The Inclusive School: Equity & Excellence for All Students

1. The Inclusive School: Equity & Excellence for All Students Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D. http://www.cherylmjorgensen.com Barnstable SEPAC

2. A Little Quiz A history teacher is leading a review of geography before tomorrow’s test. He calls students up to the map one by one and each has to identify the location of a country (teacher says “Where’s Ukraine?”) and its capital. Students use a long pointer to point to the country and they say its capital.

3. Are Any of These Scenarios “Inclusive” for a Particular Student with a Disability? • He sits at the front of the room next to the teacher and pulls student names out of a hat and hands them to the teacher to indicate whose turn it is. • He sits at the side of the room and puts together a puzzle of the United States. • When the teacher calls on him he is asked a pre-arranged question and then goes up to the map and places a sticker on the country he is studying but doesn’t indicate its capital. • During class time a physical therapist walks around the building with him to teach him to navigate the school’s “geography” – i.e., where is the cafeteria, the boy’s room, the gym, etc. • He sits in the back row with a paraprofessional by his side and glues pictures of various Italian things (e.g., spaghetti, the Leaning Tower of Pisa) on a poster board that will serve as his quiz. • He sits in the back row with a paraprofessional and reviews flashcard with names of countries and capitals.

4. Possibilities

5. Possibilities for People with Disabilities- 1970

6. Possibilities for People with Disabilities- 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOwDfnoek6E&feature=player_detailpage

7. What is Inclusion?

8. Definition of Inclusive Education …school communities based on social justice principles in which all students: • Are presumed competent; • Are welcomed as valued members of all general education classes and extra-curricular activities in their local schools; • Fully participate and learn alongside their same-age peers in general education instruction based on the general curriculum; and, • Experience reciprocal social relationships. From TASH Inclusive Education site: http://tash.org/advocacy-issues/inclusive-education/

9. Presuming Competence I learn I communicate Collaborative Teaming & Administrative Support

10. “All Means All” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYfjKOqWWxo7rQmwpPpw9Vw

11. Rationale for Inclusion

12. Research- and Values-Based Benefits of Inclusion • Higher expectations • Better performance on reading and math tests • Fewer days missed from school • Fewer problem behavior referrals • Value-added benefits to the general education classroom • Students who receive their educational program with same age peers without disabilities will have greater access to the general curriculum • Opportunity to develop social relationships • Promotes the value of diverse community for all students • Best preparation for adult life – students who are included in high school have better adult outcomes

13. IDEA requires that we use “evidence-based practices” with students with disabilities. INCLUSION IS AN EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE!

14. Negative Effects of Segregation • Teaching of academics in segregated classrooms or other settings is of poorer quality. • Children in segregated classrooms or other settings have poorer quality IEPs. • What children learn in segregated classrooms or settings doesn’t “translate” into regular settings • Opportunities for lots of different kinds of friendships are not as available.

15. Negative Effects of Segregation • General education teachers become less confident in teaching diverse students when they do not have a wide variety of children in their classrooms. • Being segregated goes against the theory that all human beings need to belong before they can achieve.

16. “There is even a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that integrated service models for students with disabilities (all disabilities) enhance educational outcomes for all students.” Wayne Sailor, Ph.D. University of Kansas. Congressional Briefing on Inclusive Education. July 9, 2009.

17. What Does It Take?

18. Thasya • Has autism • Developmental age of 18 months • Fine and gross motor skill deficits • No conventional communication • Runs away and sometimes hits • Short attention span • “Stims” on lights, objects, her fingers • Plays the piano • Does not appear able to read

19. Thasya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zWp2KkOr68

20. Presuming Competence

21. Presuming Competence It is the least dangerous assumption to presume that with high quality instruction & supports all students are competent to learn & communicate about age-appropriate general education curriculum content in the general education classroom.

22. #1 Why Presume Competence "Simply put, when teachers expect students to do well and show intellectual growth, they do; when teachers do not have such expectations, performance and growth are not so encouraged and may in fact be discouraged in a variety of ways." James Rhem on the “Pygmalion effect.”

23. #2 Why Presume Competence Traditional assessments of people with disabilities are seriously flawed. Those that purport to measure students’ intelligence and adaptive behavior usually measure what they can’t do, rather than what they might be able to do with the right supports.

24. #3 Why Presume Competence Research shows that a growing number of children labeled “retarded” show they are competent when they have a means to communicate.

25. How Competent Would You Appear If This Were Your Communication Device?

26. #4 Why Presume Competence To presume incompetence could result in harm to our students if we are wrong.

27. #5 Why Presume Competence Even if we are wrong about students’ capacities to learn general education curriculum content, the consequences to students of that incorrect presumption are not as dangerous as the alternative.

28. Strategies for PresumingCompetence • Abandon the idea of “low functioning” and “high functioning” – everyone has strengths and challenges. • Support communication. • Examine your attitudes. Practice saying, “How can this work?”, “How can this child be successful?” • Question your stereotypes – how someone looks, walks, or talks does not tell you about how they think and feel. • Use age appropriate talk.

29. Strategies for PresumingCompetence • Teach peers and others how to interpret potentially speech or communication technology. • Do not speak about the child in front of the child. EVER! Especially about self-care. • Let the child explain for him or herself. • Assume that every child will benefit from age-appropriate academic instruction. “If youwanttosee competence it helps if you look for it.” Douglas Biklen Kasa-Hendrickson & Buswell, 2007, as cited by Causton, 2015

30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRR67_osT-Q

31. School Structures & Roles

32. School Structures & Organizational Factors that Support Inclusive Education • Vision: All means all. • Principal leadership • Mission, plan, resources, supervision, accountability • Professional development for staff • Common planning time – 1 hour per week for classroom teacher, paraprofessional, SLP, OT, Special Educator/Inclusion Facilitator • Collaboration between general and special education – full time co-teaching, part-time co-teaching, consultation, push-in services by OT, SLP, PT, Sped. Teachers

33. School Structures & Organizational Factors that Support Inclusive Education • No places just for students with disabilities and all places open to students with disabilities • A school schedule that provides time for personalized instruction (“intervention”) WITHOUT students missing core instruction in ELA, math, social studies, science • Technology resources and teacher skills to use it

34. Role of the Inclusion Facilitator The IF supports teams to implement best educational practices for students with significant disabilities related to their membership, relationships, participation, and learning of the general education curriculum in inclusive classrooms in neighborhood schools. They support students to achieve the goals of their IEPs, to develop and sustain typical social relationships and participate in social activities, to learn and maintain appropriate behavior, to make smooth transitions from year to year, and to graduate to typical adult roles in the community.

35. “Traditional” Special Educator Compared to Inclusion Facilitator The traditional Special Educator is responsible for the educational programs of a “caseload” of students. His or her main job is to assure that students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are administered as written, following the rules and regulations of the school and IDEA. This person works most directly with students. The Inclusion Facilitator is responsible for supporting students’ full membership, relationships, participation, and learning in age-appropriate general education classrooms in their neighborhood schools. This includes promoting learning of the general education curriculum as well as the goals on students’ IEPs. This person works most directly with other adults.

36. Finding Time for Planning • Put in master schedule before the beginning of the school year • Put on IEP as “indirect” service or “consultation” • Use student teachers • Use arrival time and share bus coverage duties • Hire a roving sub to cover classroom teachers • Group 2 classes together 1 period per week and release 1 teacher

37. Coffee Break

38. Inclusive Instruction • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Dm4LX5_mw • Core instruction – to all students in heterogeneous general education classes - is delivered using the principles of Universal Design for Learning • Multi-tiered systems of support are provided to students who need “more or different” academic and/or behavioral support WITHOUT removing them from core instruction • “All means all” – students with the most complex learning needs have personalized supports for their full participation and learning in general education

39. Supports for Participation & Learning by Students with the Most Complex Needs • Personalized learning objectives from the general education curriculum • Big ideas • Vocabulary • Knowledge • Skills • Individualized supports in the areas of accessible instructional materials, technology, behavior, sensory, communication, movement, environment

40. Alana Visually impaired. Walks unsteadily. Measured I.Q. 55. Emotional outbursts. Difficulty with attention. It’s tempting to only see what she can’t do. See Alana’s Participation Plan for Chemistry

41. Presuming Competence Participation Supports • access to knowledge and information in formats that match students’ learning strengths, needs, and their current reading and comprehension skills • 2. a way to communicate (speak) about both academic and social topics • 3. technology or other supports that enable them to write about the same topics as their peers without disabilities The foundation for optimal participation and learning is presuming that, with the right supports, all students can learn Common Core State Standards in the general education classroom. Even when students don’t currently show us what they know, it is the least dangerous assumption to presume competence.

42. 1. Access to Knowledge & Information The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 requires that schools provide accessible materials to students with disabilities in a timely manner so that those materials are available at the same time as materials are provided to students without disabilities.

43. Change the “Look” of the Text on the Page • Make font bigger. • Change font style, color, or background color to highlight critical information or accommodate vision. • Create more “white space” between words and lines.

44. Enhance Text with Pictures, Graphics, Video, and/or Concrete Objects

45. Supplement English Text with Text in Student’s Native Language • Acquire books written in a different language • Use free online translator software e.g., Google Translate does text and website! http://translate.google.com/ (have a native speaker check for “sense-making”) • Hire a translator • Get Braille books

46. Use Text-to-Speech Software • Kurzweil http://www.kurzweiledu.com/text-to-speech.html or Read & Write Gold http://www.texthelp.com/North-America/Our-products/Readwrite • Digital books https://www.bookshare.org/ • iPad or Android apps - http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/text-to-speech-apps-for-ipad • Microsoft Word • Go to the “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” at the VERY top of a Word document. • Click “More Commands.” Click “All Commands.” Find “SPEAK” • “ADD” it to the right hand column. Highlight the text you want to read • Click the “Speak selected text” icon – looks like a rectangular thought bubble

47. Find or Create Alternate Versions of the Regular Text • Google search for “ [name of book] + adapted version” or “modified version” or “accessible version” • http://issuu.com/adrianmc/docs/nelle_harper_lee_-_to_kill_a_mockingbird • Try these websites: http://udleditions.cast.org/ http://www.pinterest.com/joybrown73/teaching-accessible-text-resources/http://tarheelreader.org/ http://www.ric.edu/sherlockcenter/wwslist.html http://www.setbc.org/setbc/accessiblebooks • Publishers – Scholastic, Attainment, Apple iBooks

48. Create Your Own Books SymWriter or Picture Communication Symbols In a pinch – i.e., if you don’t have a digital copy of a text – you can use a free web-based “auto summarize” tool that reduces the amount of text. http://freesummarizer.com/

50. Provide Sign Language InterpreterThe Red Pony