Presented by: Abington School District Low Incidence Conference August 6, 2012

1. Establishing a Program of Inclusion at Your School: Practical Considerations From a School Team That’s Happily Been There!! Presented by: Abington School District Low Incidence Conference August 6, 2012

2. Jessica Adamski-General Education Teacher • Debbie Brown-PATTAN Consultant • Gail Katch-MCIU Consultant • Colby Keyser-Speech & Language Therapist • Dr. Kevin Osborne-Principal of Roslyn Elementary • Jennifer Peszek-Special Education Coordinator • Meghan Shupp-Special Education Teacher Who Are We?

3. Suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County. • 9 schools (7 elementary, junior high, senior high) • High race and socio-economic diversity • History of high academic achievement • Elementary schools strongly identify with their neighborhoods.

4. Goals & Expectations

5. History of our Inclusive Program Leadership for Inclusive Schools Rydal Elementary Roslyn Elementary

6. “the District could and should have taken less drastic measures to improve continuity/ collaboration than the one chosen which uproots the most vulnerable, sensitive, and fragile students in the District and causes them to leave behind precious friendships that took years to develop, school facilities that met their specialized needs, experienced/ trained faculty in the area of inclusion, a loving and caring school community, and in some cases siblings and home schools.” June 26, 2009 letter signed by all parents of • students in the two LSS classes School Climate & Structures

7. Concern:Roslyn general education and special education teachers will not have adequate opportunities to meet before school starts, or throughout the year, to plan appropriate inclusive programs for their students. • Faculty presentation prior to end of school by teachers from Rydal and transferring LSS teachers (June 2009). • Staff attended Low Incidence Conference at PSU (August 2009). • Professional development to all Roslyn staff by Gail Katch (MCIU) September 2009. • Colleen Mook spoke to staff giving parent perspective. • Ongoing professional development throughout the first year and still continuing today.

8. Concern: Roslyn’s general education students and their families will not understand what inclusion is all about by the first day of school.

9. Parent Concerns • Roslyn general education and special education teachers will not have adequate opportunities to meet before school starts, or throughout the year, to plan appropriate inclusive programs for their students. • Roslyn’ s general education students and their families will not understand what inclusion is all about by the first day of school. • Roslyn’s bathrooms will not be appropriate to meet the needs of our children by the start of school. • Roslyn’s playgrounds will not be appropriate to meet the needs of our children by the first day of school.

10. Concern: Roslyn’s bathrooms will not be appropriate to meet the needs of our children by the start of school. Locks added with bell Changing table installed Cabinet for supplies (lobby men’s room)

11. Second Floor Bathroom Walls added and doors moved Bathroom modified from men’s room to unisex staff/ student with needs bathroom

12. Concern: Roslyn’s playgrounds will not be appropriate to meet the needs of our children by the first day of school. Outdoor Equipment Moved Additional Parking Lot (added at the expense of approximately $50,000) Small Group Rooms Modified

13. Other Planning Considerations • Placing students with the “right” teachers open to the idea of including students with significant needs. • Student lunch schedules changed. • Bus /parent loops switched due to time considerations. • Paraprofessional lunch concerns due to collective bargaining agreements. • Itinerant prep coverage with staff member divided among 3 schools. • Recognizing the gifts each person brings to the table.

14. PaTTAN/IU Support Roslyn Elementary School

15. Purpose: Support local school districts in the design and implementation of sustainable inclusive educational practices for students with complex support needs PATTAN/IU SUPPORT: MPL Project

16. Outcomes for ALL students… Membership I count Participation General Education Instruction Learning I belong Social & Other Academic Everything Else Adapted from Michael McSheehan, Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire, 2009

17. Students with Complex Support Needs (SWCSN) will be effectively educated in general education classrooms and settings with supplementary aids and services • SWCSN will receive meaningful educational benefit. • Regular and special education teachers will collaborate to provide meaningful educational benefit to SWCSN • School administrators will demonstrate leadership promoting an inclusive school community. • Parents will be welcome partners • School District teams will implement plans for sustainability and expansion of practices. MPL Outcomes

18. Managing Complex Change ACTION PLAN = CHANGE SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES VISION ACTION PLAN = CONFUSION SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES ACTION PLAN = ANXIETY VISION INCENTIVES RESOURCES ACTION PLAN =RESISTANCE VISION SKILLS RESOURCES ACTION PLAN VISION SKILLS INCENTIVES = FRUSTRATION = TREADMILL VISION SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES Adapted from Knoster, T. (1991) TASH Conference Washington DC (Adapated by Knoster from Enterprise Group, Ltd.)

19. School Structures: • Scheduling • Proactive Problem Solving Meeting • Instructional Planning Process • Building capacity • Throughout the school • Awareness of Universal Design for Learning Training & Technical Assistance

20. Classroom Practices • Class Visits • Special Education • General Education • Special Areas • Environmental Integration • Seating • Paraprofessional Support • Access to Instruction (Big Idea) • Materials • Resources Training & Technical Assistance

21. Building District Capacity • Evening Parent Meetings • After school “Building Inclusive Schools” overviews • Abington Junior High • McKinley Elementary • Willow Hill Elementary Training & Technical Assistance

22. Communication is... What Does Communication Mean To You?

23. assistive technology appreciating celebration clarity collaboration cooperation community connectionconnectedness control conversation creativity email empowerment everythingexchange expression faith feeling freedomfriendshipsgratifying identity insight inspiration interactionlove meaning message non-verbal openness power receptionreciprocityresponding sharing socialization texting trust understanding verbal warmth writing

24. How Do We Set Up A Communication Program?

25. Communication Program

26. Set Expectations for Teachers, Students, Staff and Parents

27. Communication Program

28. Presume Competence

29. Communication Program

30. YES Establish a YES/NO NO

31. Present with YES on CHILD’S left and NO on CHILD’S right • DO NOT SWITCH SIDES. DO NOT TEST. • Respect the answer given. • YES/NO at same time could “maybe” or “I don’t know. Refine question and ask again. YES/NO Rules

32. Make YES/NO cards available to EVERYONE

33. Make them a part of the classroom, as well as the lesson planning.

34. ID badges make them easy to access

35. Make them available to all staff and faculty

36. Solving a book issue with yes/no…

37. Set the expectation of using a point, hand, reaching with a grab. • Explain reasons why pointing with purpose is so important—We want to teach our kids to make choices in such a way that it commands respect. • We don’t want to HAVE to question their answers because there is not purpose behind the point. Pointing with Purpose

38. Enter…the iPads

39. We started with 1…

40. then there were 10

41. Frequent Access to Core Words • Teach Core Words is spelling words • Fringe Words Organized into Categories • Teach Categorization and Alphabetizing • The Ability to Combine Words to Create Complete Sentences • If I Can’t Say What I Want to Say, Neither Can My Student. A Functional System

42. Our Approach To the Program

43. With Parents • Shining Moments Newsletter • Evening and Summer Parent Trainings • With Teachers and Staff • Ongoing Trainings with Teachers and Para Professionals • With Students • Ongoing Trainings with Students in General Education Classrooms Creating a Communication Community

44. Parents are VITAL team members in a communication program. • We share our smallest successes with the parents as well as events for the week and something to ponder. • We support parents in maintaining ongoing hope, belief and expectations for their child. Creating Community with Shining Moments Newsletter

45. Small successes that each child achieved throughout the week.

46. Events and things to think about.

47. Our Approach To the Program

48. Everyone Should Be Comfortable • Parents, teachers and students should feel competent using the communication system. They should understand how it works and learn the placement of words.

49. To presume competence. • To use yes/no to facilitate more complex communication. • To set expectations. • How to model requests/comments/questions. • How to model using complete sentences with correct grammar. • How to treat this as learning a 2nd language. • If you can’t say it on the iPad, then neither can they. We continuously train faculty/staff

50. We continuously train our students