| The Diocese of Wheeling- Charleston has 27 Catholic schools. 20 of the schools are elementary and 7 are high schools. These Catholic schools like many others are faced with declining enrollment which is of concern to educational leaders. In West Virginia, Reverend Michael J. Bransfield insisted "Special education students wanting to share in the Catholic school platform have not had the same opportunities as their traditional learning counterparts" (Bransfield, 2013). The instructional capacity to accommodate students with disabilities in Catholic schools in West Virginia is questionable.;This investigation used a single instrument, adapted from two national studies, to investigate the depth of preparation of the schools to provide education to students with special needs. All 27 principals were invited and all voluntarily participated. The questions measured the level of provisions provided to students with disabilities, the attitudes of principals regarding these students, and placement options available.;Data collected revealed the professional development resources for teachers and administrators were strikingly low. Only 37% of the principals felt "ready" to lead their staffs in the area of delivering special needs services and supports. Only 63% of the Catholic school principals were enrolled in formation or methods classes for special needs education at their universities, and only 41% completed any training outside the university setting regarding special needs education.;To better insure the viability of Catholic education for students with special needs in West Virginia, it was suggested that locally, schools aggressively set about finding resource dollars for professional development of their staff for current students. Second, the schools must match the students to the physical services available. Third, the local Catholic school must set aside budget dollars to professionally develop a teacher training protocol for special needs students.;The Central Office must address the need for a comprehensive educational program to further the skills of existing teachers, administrators, and staff. A second recommendation was to change the Diocesan Policy on General Admission to address the admission of special needs students. A third recommendation would be investment in programming to address those who might consider enrolling in the Catholic schools in future years. |
