Inclusion Benefits Everyone: Educators’ Perspectives
By Shelley Littleton, M.Ed., and Donni Perry, M.Ed.
Have you ever wondered what inclusion looks like in other schools? Many schools in Superintendent’s Regions 2 and 3 have been recognized by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) through the Inclusive Practice Partnership Project for including students with disabilities in general education classes.
When asked to use one word to describe their overall experiences with inclusion, the educators responded with: “student-centered,” “hopeful,” “amazing,” “progress,” “challenging,” and “wow!”. They also agreed that inclusion benefits teachers, parents, staff members, and students with and without disabilities.
Why do so many educators believe in inclusion and how do they know it works? Find out by reading their answers to three critical questions:
Inclusion Project Event Mini-Grants – Application Due November 15, 2018
The Virginia Department of Education, in collaboration with the Partnership for People with Disabilities, supports the Inclusion Project, a youth-led initiative to increase disability awareness in schools. More information about the Inclusion Project can be found here.
This year, the Inclusion Project is pleased to announce it is offering up to 10 mini-grants (max: $2,000) to support schools interested in planning an Inclusion Project event. If you are interested in promoting inclusion in your schools, please apply for a mini-grant here.
Applications due November 15, 2018
Inclusion Project: Mini-Grant Application NOW LIVE!
The Virginia Department of Education, in collaboration with the Partnership for People with Disabilities, supports the Inclusion Project, a youth led initiative to increase disability awareness in schools. Find out more information about the Inclusion Project.
Beginning January 2018, the Inclusion Project is pleased to announce it is offering up to 6 mini grants (max: $2,000) to support schools interested in planning an Inclusion Project event. Application deadline is January 29, 2018.
Application: https://goo.gl/forms/lO5xPT4uWLQeppvf1
Inclusion: What, Why, and How?
Inclusive practices are vital to providing students with authentic experiences in diversity and meeting the unique needs of all learners (McGregor & Vogelsberg, 1998; Staub & Peck, 1995). With ongoing collaboration and strategic planning, school communities embrace inclusion by adopting a growth mindset to address student needs. Inclusive schools welcome all local students, with varying performance levels and learning styles, to attend their neighborhood schools, which is why a shared ownership mentality is imperative for success (Janney & Snell, 2013). [Read more…]
Creating a Master Schedule that Supports Inclusive Practices
Creating a Master Schedule that Supports Inclusive Practices, an article from the May/June 2012 edition of Link Lines, provides steps for ensuring that the master schedule supports inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. This article includes detailed tips for balancing class rosters.
Strategies for Creating Inclusive Schools
This Considerations Packet provides educators with information, recommendations, and tools to expand inclusive practices within their schools. The recommendations outlined in this packet, and described in the IRIS online learning module referenced therein, equip school leaders to create concrete plans for leading the implementation and sustaining an inclusive school.
Creating an Environment of Inclusion
Have you ever created a Wordle? Wordles provide a visual means of representing text through word clouds. Words that appear more frequently in text appear larger in the cloud. For example, I created the following Wordle using the principles of effective inclusion from a number of resources (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, 2014; Halvorsen & Neary, 2009; Peterson & Hittie, 2007; Salend, 2008): [Read more…]
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