With 40% of its 850 students at Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) in Pennsylvania having an IEP, and 50% overall being economically disadvantaged, school leaders realized that their instructional staff might need more professional support than many traditional schools.
“I just wanted to make sure all of our CTE educators and staff had the materials, resources, and knowledge to support all learners,” says Michael Herrera, Executive Director of UBCTS. “Many of our instructors are technical experts who have to come into career tech ed and then learn how to become teachers.”
While looking for help, Herrera discovered Amanda Bastoni, Director of Career Technical & Adult Education for CAST, and realized that the organization’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which offers learning principles to support diverse and special populations, might be the solution he was looking for to bridge that gap. Bastoni was eager to offer support.
“We first asked how we could build self-efficacy in the teachers, how we could help them see that they could be successful and give them the skills they needed,” says Bastoni. “Many CTE teachers are already using the strategies in universal design for learning but they haven’t been told or identified that these are best practices in education. So part of it is just saying, ‘Look this is what you’re already doing really well. Keep it up.’”
As a result of the partnership, UBCTS has developed a specialized credential for educators designed to enhance understanding and application of UDL. It also includes a professional badge from NOCTI, the leading provider of industry credentials and resources for CTE.
Herrera says embedding this type of professional development has become sustainable, provided a common language, and built trust, all of which has validated the process. “We saw that it could be the most effective way to change the paradigm and help our teacher support all learners,” he adds.
Now, more than 45 UBCTS staff members have been trained in UDL.
Building Supports
Implementing UDL throughout the program has helped to create a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), says Daniel Cullen, UBCTS Assistant Director of Student Services.
“Tier One core instruction is going to be founded upon our UDL principles and the tenants of instruction that are associated with each principle,” Cullen says. “And in that system, our Tier Two interventions’ common language is really going to be influenced and informed by UDL because it takes the wonderful instructional pedagogy methods and it qualifies them. It creates a common language amongst the staff, so you see a little bit of fidelity start to take root across programs, which increases that teacher sense of efficacy.”
Building that efficacy is accomplished by the systemic approach that UDL provides, for both educators and schools. Learning to make data-informed decisions is part of that process, and doing so helps teachers build belief in their own skills, says Cullen. If that isn’t there, when a student with cognitive, emotional, or language barriers comes in, they’re not going to succeed.
Herrera says that implementing UDL has increased engagement from nontraditional students and special populations, which has freed instructors to focus on delivering content. “It has helped empower the students to own their own learning,” he says.
Bastoni agrees. “The goal of UDL is to create expert learners, or learners who know what they need to learn,” she says, “And so I tried to reinforce that with the teachers. We’re trying to create learners who can go out in the world. You don’t have to have students who can walk away doing everything perfectly.”
“When you connect UDL to the power of career connected learning, that’s when the real magic happens,” adds Cullen.
5 Tips For Implementing UDL In Your CTE Instruction
Bastoni offers advice for those considering UDL.
- Create A Baseline Understanding – Ensure all teachers have a foundational understanding of best practices, with UDL as the common language. “And then you can build off of that with all these awesome programs,” Bastoni says. “It’s much easier to expand when everyone’s on the same page originally.”
- Get Administrative Buy-In – Strong leadership with a clear vision, consistent support (funding, attendance, collaboration time), and integration of UDL training with school goals are crucial.
- Teacher-Centered PD – Professional development should be designed based on teachers’ needs and feedback, modeling UDL principles in its delivery (e.g., multiple modalities, former CTE educators as trainers).
- Focus on Problem-Solving – UDL implementation is most successful when it addresses specific problems or barriers faced by educators and students.
- Build Authenticity and Trust – Genuinely listening to teacher feedback and building trust are key to successful adoption. “When administrators have a vision and they force it on their staff, it’s not going to be well-received,” Bastoni says. “If you want UDL to be implemented and loved, and to have it really work and be accepted, you have to demonstrate that it’s valuable and authentic.”
Helping All Students Find Their Own Way
Ultimately, empowering the teachers with UDL certification has trickled down to success for students.
In particular, Cullen touts the success of the UBCTS ELL population, many of whom leave the school with workplace skills, an industry certification, and a credential in their native language, thanks to UDL pillars that allow them to select different tasks based on level of skill complexity, represent how they’re learning, and build autonomy. “It’s like a triple threat in the workplace,” he says.
“Over the last two years, 277 students had the opportunity to make $1.8 million just during the school day,” says Herrera. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students once those barriers are removed and we focus on skills from a strength-based approach. It really helps students find their way.”