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Inclusion classes are welcoming. They meet the needs of a diverse group and everyone can benefit from it. Everyone in the school must be on the same page and accept children's differences. Since there is a wide range of student needs, we need to increase the amount of adults to service everyone properly. Smaller class sizes is extremely important in the success of these programs.

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An inclusive school is accepting of all students regardless of disabilities. An inclusive school works to provide the best possible learning environment for these students with the their peers. This is achieved with a shared vision by all and a commitment to be open to the challenge. It requires communication and teamwork to support teachers and students.

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An inclusive school honors the needs of all students. This is achieved when all staff are properly updated and involved consistently in the learning process. The involvement each of us has also needs to consider "how" students are taught based on those needs. Keeping a universal language and routine consistent with what has worked for a student is therefore important. This is why an inclusive school relies on communication and collaboration between staff and students.

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What does an "Inclusive School" look like? June 16th, 2021

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What does an "Inclusive School" look like? June 16th, 2021

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Since inclusive schools do require consistency, flexibility and collaboration I feel it is imperative that the school can provide these things from day one of a students academic career. Which means teachers and the school community have to work together to create a learning environment that supports students individual needs fro Pre-K through graduation. The "vision" for special needs students can't just be implemented by one or two teachers, all staff have to be on board and willing work together toward the same goal. Plans, resources and supports put in place for a student should remain consistent and only be changed or replaced as the student grows and changes.

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Inclusion looks like everyone achieving their goals through a variety of ways.   All staff are included in planning, communication and delivery of instruction for all students, regardless of their abilities.

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Inclusion is when people who are not in the building are not able to tell which students receives extra supports. What helps a school is the attitude of those in the building including adults and children.

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Inclusion is when people who are not in the building are not able to tell which students receives extra supports. What helps a school is the attitude of those in the building including adults and children.

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion 

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion 

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This article focused on  improving language skills in preschoolers with disabilities by placing them in classrooms with typical developing peers.

Although the main focus was on language I could see the benefit of this concept in other areas.  We learn from the interactions we have with others.

It took me to a place of parenting and the importance of talking to and reading to your child even before birth.  Just as we help our children reach their developmental milestones we have to play a role in helping our students improve their overall quality of life

Dollicia Felder

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My Son Belongs In Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs In Your Child's Classroom

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"Inclusion teaches everyone in the classroom to accept students with disabilities and value their contributions, to adapt to challenges and celebrate strengths".

K. Russell-Postell
One of my earliest experiences in education involved working in an inclusive pre-school classroom. During this time, a class of this dynamic was rare. The teachers were over welcoming and accommodating to the needs of each and every child. No one was ever able to feel different, less than, or disabled, despite the reality that not all children in the program were typically developing. The article demonstrated the challenges that students with disabilities can possibly face in an inclusion environment. I admired the strength of the mother of the article and how she chose to not let her son's disability become a source of discrimination. It was refreshing to see that child in this story was able to experience education in the least restrictive manner.

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This article really stuck out to me. Here are a few quotes that were alarming:
"Students who stay their whole career in a self-contained classroom, have a 5 percent shot at a diploma."
"Poorer quality of instruction in academic skills"
"Decrease in the confidence that general education teachers have for teaching diverse learners"

The first quote made my jaw drop. This number is much lower than I would have every thought. The second quote made me reflect on my own teaching practices. The final quote is something I have witnessed in classrooms. These are times where I am fighting that lack of confidence in my students. It also is a reflection of why... why is there a lack of confidence and how can we boost it so it doesn't become another statistic.

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Inclusion, and the Negative Side Effects of Educating Children in Self-Contained Settings (Megan Dorsett)

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Inclusion, and the Negative Side Effects of Educating Children in Self-Contained Settings (Megan Dorsett)

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I first looked at the article about the Negative Side Effects of Educating Students in the Self-Contained Setting, and then looked at Children Benefit from Inclusion, and found it interesting how the two articles were making the similar point, that when students are placed in settings that reflect the "real "world", such as the Inclusion Setting, that they are able to learn from one other through social interaction, and in fact display more growth. I do agree with the negative side effects of the self-contained setting. If students are given lower standards, and are surrounded by peers who are performing at an academic level at or below them, as well as, possibly displaying negative behaviors, how is that benefitting them, or pushing them to achieve more? Having worked most of my career in the ICT setting, and now as CT, I have seen the benefits for students when we have diversity of all types in the classroom, as students learn to interact, and learn lessons from one another that can even be more valuable than what we teach "from books", such as kindness, empathy, patience, and cooperation. I do think that we need to make changes to the way we place our students into self-contained settings, but I am also aware that there can be extreme circumstances, and not every student can be successful in a "traditional classroom" due to social emotional, or safety concerns. I am not claiming to know the answer to this problem, but I do believe our District needs to do the work to ensure that our population of Special Ed students are receiving the best possible chance at a successful future.

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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As I was reading this article, I thought about my cousin who has gone through this as a parent and the parents of students I have met and worked with over the years.  The author is spot on about the feeling of being her child's best advocate.  "Successful inclusion incorporates curriculum modifications to allow children to learn side-by-side." This quote sums everything up. There are general education teachers who resist this concept or do not understand inclusion regardless of the quantity and quality of meetings we have. I am speaking of the secondary level in particular where a student has 5+ teachers. There are always some who believe that making accommodations or modifying curriculum is cheating the general education students in some way. I could write about five more pages about this topic, but I will sum it up with the parent and special education teacher team may be the best short-term advocate for the child, but the parent is the best long-term advocate who learns from each of the teachers (and grueling hours of research) along the journey. Parsons

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I was very interested that this article focused on language development.  Language development is critical for our students to be ready to learn academic skills.  All academic subjects/areas incorporate speaking, reading, writing, listening and understanding of language.  Beginning with our youngest learners, they learn from each other.  I liked how the article reinforced that children learn from each other.  Children with disabilities learn language skills from non-disabled peers who demonstrate proficient language skills.  We need to give our students with language or other needs the opportunity to play, interact, and learn with their non-disabled peers.  The non-disabled peers will also benefit from inclusion.  They will learn acceptance of differences.  They will learn to help others.  They will learn the importance of patience and being kind to others.                     Kelly Mulvehill

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My Son Belongs In Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs In Your Child's Classroom

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The first thing that struck me about this article is that it comes from a mother's point of view, and her thinking that a decision needs to be made at such a young age for her child whether he will graduate with a diploma or not. That is so much pressure for a parent, to worry that she will not be making the best choice for her son, and requires a lot of trust between her and her son's team. Are we doing enough to provide parents with that sense of trust when we have our meetings, or do we sometimes just get overwhelmed with our "to do" list and treat these meetings as something we need to check off of our list? Another very important point from the article reminds us that inclusive classrooms are for ALL the students involved.  Teaching empathy, patience, how to appreciate differences....these are all important characteristics to encourage within the school community. Inclusive classrooms can provide that environment.
Becky Van Alstyne

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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As I was reading this article I thought about when I was in high school and worked at a day care center. We had children with disabilities attend. They were integrated into the classroom with their same age peers. The non-disabled peers were not judgmental. They learned acceptance and were role models for their peers. The students with the disabilities participated in all aspects of the program and were held to the same expectations. That program worked because the staff were all in agreement that all students were valuable members of the center. The environment was one of caring and wanting the best for all students.
Charlie is fortunate that his mom has the knowledge to advocate for what is best for him.
Charlie's mom says, "effective inclusion requires that an entire community embrace the philosophy and collaborate." May says, "Ownership of the inclusive process belongs to everyone at the school, not just the 'resource teacher' or a particular program or individual. Students, faculty, staff - all are involved in an intentional effort to create a sense of belonging for every student."  How can we get our staff and schools to be on board with the inclusive process??
Lisa E-N

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What are the outcomes for nondisabled students

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What are the outcomes for nondisabled students

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I really enjoyed this article. The point which stuck out to me is "Many nondisabled students have experienced an increase in self-esteem as a result of their relationships with individuals with disabilities." It discussed how nondisabled students often improved their advocacy skills and sense of belonging, and they established meaningful and lifelong friendships from being in that setting. Inclusive classrooms can provide a caring community for all students to thrive in.

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Negative Effects of Educating Children in A Self-Contained Class

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Negative Effects of Educating Children in A Self-Contained Class

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I think the most sobering statement from this article is that  "Students who stay their whole career in a self-contained classroom, have a 5 percent shot at a diploma."  That coupled with the lack of growth  and the number of years that self contained students are behind their peers leads us to the clear conclusion that this is not the way to educate students with disabilities.  Having spent many years teaching self contained,  there was always a need for more opportunities for self contained students to be included with the general education students.
Karen O'Neill

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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As I was reading this article, the point which stuck out of me is "Dieker cited two themes in an inclusive school: consistency and flexibility. Every class adheres to the same rules and consequences, regardless of the students sitting in it." This made me think about the level of collaboration and shared vision an inclusive school needs to have.  I don't know about everyone else, but most teachers I know do not have the same expectations and consequences from one room to another. However for our school to transition to a true inclusive model, we would need to have this shift occur. I wonder how to make this happen, while still giving teachers their autonomy? Inclusion has so many benefits.

Jessica Hammond

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Negative effects of educating children in a self-contained-  This point made me think- "Decrease in the confidence that general education teachers have for teaching diverse learners (Giangreco et al., 1993)."  As we have heard and learned over and over again "special education is not a "place" but a service. All teachers should have training and the skills to work with and teach all the kids in their class. Having the expertise of a general education and special education teacher working TOGETHER with the children can only lead to great things- if they work well together and take ownership of ALL the kids.
The second article I looked was Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion.
The article sited a study about preschoolers and the benefits of an inclusion setting. The study looked at the pragmatic skills of the children. These 2 statements  summarize the main benefits of inclusion-
-“We found that children with disabilities get a big boost in their language scores over the course of a year when they can interact with other children who have good language skills.”
-In fact, after one year of preschool, children with disabilities had language skills comparable to children without disabilities when surrounded by highly skilled peers in their classroom.
All the kids benefit from the inclusion of SWD in the general educational setting. The SWD kids language skills greatly improved when exposed to children with higher level language skills. The general education children learn about acceptance and differences- and they don't even know it.

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I read the list of facts from Negative Effects of Educating Children in Self-Contained. The facts in this list show the need for students with disabilities to be placed in ICOT classes. From this list I learned that students in self-contained classes have inferior quality of IEP goals. This made me start wondering how and why this happens in the self-contained classes. I did a little research and found that this study was conducted in 1992 on a very small number of students (22) and the goals were judged on 7 different areas. The 22 students in this study had severe disabilities and the goals were written by 11 teachers. If you are interested in the study here is the link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/154079699201700406

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Working in various types of settings as a speech pathologist I have seen the positive effects of having good language role models in the classroom.  The article stated that when SWD were in classrooms with higher level language peers, the SWD language skills improved greatly.  Kids imitate what they see.  If they are around higher skilled language peers more often than not they will learn and imitate those skills.

Holly Fiorica

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As an SLP I would always advocate for students with disabilities to have the opportunity to be included with gen ed students.  Language development relies on hearing appropriate models.  This is an invaluable part of growth and development.  Sometimes I feel this is what hurts some of our self-contained students.  They are not given time to socialize and experience language from typical peers.

Jena Overbeck

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Negative effects of educating children in a self-contained

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Negative effects of educating children in a self-contained

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The list shows that students need the ICT model. This fact alone proves how important it is.
Students who stay their whole career in a self-contained classroom, have a 5 percent shot at a diploma.

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Children with Down Syndrome who are educated in special classrooms are more than 2 years behind on expressive language than children with Down Syndrome who are fully included (Buckley, DownsEd).

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Nancy Sutherland                  My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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Nancy Sutherland                  My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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All kids learn from each other.  They do not notice differences but accept other kids as they are.  If we place students with disabilities in a smaller classroom with only other students with disabilities, all of the kids lose.  In 2nd grade, we teach many social skills, like sharing, being a good friend, and empathy, as well as academic skills.  I often sit at our annual reviews and re-evlauation meetings and try to put myself in the parent's position.  I talk about the strengths and what their child can do.  Sometimes, I feel like the author and that we are deciding a child's future and they are only 8 years old!  In our ICT classes, we foster good relationships, high expectations, and perseverance.  All students needs to see what they can challenge themselves to learn.

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Negative effects of educating children in a self-contained, segregated classroom  Children with Down Syndrome who are educated in special classrooms are more than 2 years behind on expressive language than children with Down Syndrome who are fully included.  This was news to me but I was not surprised.  The problem with eliminating self contained classroom is the staffing in Icot.  We will need more than two teachers.  We need TA's and paras in the classroom to support students with special behaviors and learning needs.

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It is not new information that preschoolers with disabilities get a boost in their language skills from more highly skilled peers.

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Most definitely, thank you!

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion

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I chose this article because I believe children should be educated in inclusive settings  with adequate supports in place to meet their needs. The results in language were noted when the students with disabilities were  "surrounded by highly skilled peers in their classroom."  It also went on to say that ....“The biggest problem comes when we have a classroom of children with disabilities with no highly skilled peers among them,”  We need to be make sure our ICoT classes have the highly skilled role models in them. Our current model (which allows up to 12 students with diabilities, even when that # is more than half the class size) can be similar to placing students with disabilities in self-contained class.

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Dr. Waters, you and I are star students LOL! . I agree with your thinking. When students are exposed to and able to "copy" language used by peers it naturally lends itself to improvements in their own abilities!

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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This article had many good points but this one struck me.“As hard as inclusion can be, it is even harder to transition a student into a full life in the community and an integrated workplace if he/she has not been interacting and working with ‘typical’ peers most of the day from ages 3 to 21.” Academics is only one piece of the educational experience. Being included allows special needs students the opportunity to learn from their peers, develop relationships and learn appropriate social skills. These are necessary skills to function well in society. There are so many benefits to having students included with their peers.

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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My Son Belongs in Your Child's Classroom

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I often go back and forth with the idea of inclusion and self-contained classrooms. This article was good for me to read. As a parent, seeing your child interacting with other children is heart-warming and you can see the benefits in so many ways. All the non-academic things that the author brought up stood out to me as the most important reasons for inclusion.
This section stood out to me the most. If RCSD continues to only train "SPED" teachers and continues the practice of displacing and moving teachers to different grade levels and different buildings, the secret to success mentioned in the article will never happen!  "The secret to success... Are general education and special education teachers working as teams? Can a general education teacher answer a parent’s questions about a student’s progress, or does that teacher defer to the special education teacher? Of course, teachers need appropriate training and support to effectively teach a class of diverse learners....Ownership of the inclusive process belongs to everyone at the school, not just the ‘resource teacher’ or a particular program or individual."

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I read the article on the effect of language development in classified students as a result of inclusion practices.  I am in complete agreement with the author's findings.  Language development in children is explicitly impacted and affected by the language that they hear, see, respond to and emulate from those around them, especially from their peers. This theory of language development also applies to students who have been culturally and economically segregated from well-off students.  Impoverished students do not have adequate opportunities to use language that is more complex due to generational school segregation practices.  This social and economic barrier stunts their language processing abilities and limits their future opportunities for social, economic and academic success.  Using the online environment to bridge these social divides between students, contains solutions to address these inequalities. Dr. T. Waters, A.P.

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Children with Disabilities Benefit from Classroom Inclusion                                                                                                         This article hit home because I have been a special education teacher in an ICOT classroom for 15 years. I truly believe students with disabilities need and deserve to be exposed to all academic, social and emotional abilities. Not only do they benefit from the modeling of higher academics and social/emotional abilities from general education peers but they are then able to use the skills and challenge themselves. ICOT classrooms allows for high/low academic pairing, diverse learning groups and the opportunity to have more teacher support for all students. For some students with disabilities it is very powerful to be immersed with higher functioning students. In some cases it might even increase their own engagement, efforts and abilities just from watching their peers.