CQ Ponders: Recognizing Inclusion When You Meet It, A Parent's Guide

This morning I had a brief, but direct, conversation with a Director of Special Education for the a very large, urban school district in So-Cal about finding Tim a high school. Tim's case manager, a very willing researcher, had tried to contact high schools to figure out what Tim might be able to take as an elective (along with PE) next year. Recall that this issue being unsatisfactorily determined last spring led to his retention in middle school/8th grade.

The case manager reported to me that only two of four high schools would even provide her the information requested. There is a reform underway in which the District is supposed to be requiring its schools to enroll kids within individual school boundaries without involving Special education in the decision-making. On the surface, adherence to civil rights legislations is cited. Just beneath the surface, it is clear this effort is about gleaning cost-savings before the culture of pigeon-holing kids has been overhauled.

The Big Sled Dog has taken a most unorthodox path to entering a classroom typically populated by general education students. First, he was in segregated day classes as a preschooler and kindergartner. Then, he was in a segregated (atypical) school where only special needs pupils attended. Then, he was transferred into a non-public school educating only students who shared his very disability. And, only then, did he enter the world of dual enrollment -- spending most of his day learning academics in a group of one (himself) and going to a comprehensive middle school campus to mainstream into two regular education classes (with about 40 kids in each): Band and PE.

Inclusion in a school setting is hard to put into words. Far easier, it seems, for me to stipulate what inclusion is NOT.

Inclusion is NOT adults arguing about who is ultimately responsible for a child's progress. Tim's mainstream experience has reinforced for me how little parents can control this and how much depends on the luck of the draw. His band teacher, a nice-enough man I'm sure, is under-trained and over-whelmed by the idea of including a teen with special needs. In fairness, Tim on drums (even "drum pads", because that's what special ed kids are assigned to play) is a challenge. His PE teacher, on the other hand, must surely change out of his cape into gym gear, as he has demanded Tim perform like everyone else -- including stupid football plays homework -- and considers him a Dream Student. In physical fitness measures, Tim has demonstrated significant improvement. He dances. He leads warm-ups in a rotation -- no more often, no less often than his "typical" peers.

Inclusion is NOT giving one set of forms and options to "general ed" kids and no forms/options to "special ed" kids . For example, Jack (going into 8th grade and while on an IEP, because of Seminar GATE placement receives pretty typical options) has a form that lists at least ten electives from which he may select. Contrast this with another young man (going into 9th grade--high school) whose mom was informed that his "elective" would be Art because "that's what those kids take in 9th grade." At a gi-normous high school.

We used to have a saying "taking the "I" out of IEP" ... this is a new low: taking the elective right out of elective.

Inclusion is NOT telling a case manager that Tim (another young man going into 9th grade) and other students with disabilities can pick either "Engineering" or "Computers" for a 9th-grade "elective". See "Undercover Investigator Report" below.

Inclusion is NOT allowing teachers to decide which students they will deign to teach. Sorry, but if you take a paycheck to teach public school children, then you get who the public sends you. If you want to select who you will teach, there's a word for that: TUTOR. If you don't have the training or skill set to be effective, then seek out the training and add to your "teaching tool box". If you don't have the support or training or materials or whatever from your employing District, bring the problem to someone's attention. (Like Neil Cavuto says on Fox News, "If you're not getting Fox Business Network, DEMAND it.") If having someone with special needs in the classroom will "ruin your experience" or "impact other kids", then perhaps it's time to rethink what kind of experience and impact an education devoid of both sides of the Bell Curve is having on this generation.

Inclusion is NOT a pre-determination of what activities and extracurriculars are appropriate for students with special needs.

All this philosophizing brings us to the outcome of today's aforementioned phone call, as memorialized to the case manager in an e-mail, Crab Queen-style:

Dear Dr. [Case Manager]~

After several phone calls to Ms. [Director]'s office, we touched base today. I think I conveyed that I could NOT Choice Tim into another site as his placement is officially an Non-Public School (i.e., an IEP team decision). I also explained that I did not desire her personal blessing for placement decisions but rather asked only for her to clarify to staff at the various h.s. (K---, M---, C----, M-- B--) that they needed to extend you the professional courtesy of responding to your appropriate inquiries re: bell times, scheduling, and ninth grade electives. My mantra was that I wanted the team to possess full information prior to the IEP meetings in order to make a team decision.

[The Director] was pretty mortified about the "engineering" or "computer" only for students with disabilities; however, I pointed out that while it is Tim's civil right to participate, it is also my position that this family -- MY family -- need not continuously fight the good fight for inclusion with small-minded people. I'd like to find a welcoming school for him to become part of its community so that we're not changing sites mid-high school career.

By the way, Tim really wants to attend a dance next year. (This is my sincere motivation for finding a place that will "own" a student who is only there a couple of periods per day). Another Valentine's Day has come and gone with him asking, "On Valentine's Day, you [meaning "I"] meet somebody new?".

Best regards,
CQ

Clearly, brevity is not my strong suit. But ASS POWER is. The Director has "got to do more research" and will get back to me. I'll be waiting with my new, revised list of what Inclusion (or "Where My Crablet Will Go To School") looks (and sounds and feels and smells)* like:

Inclusion is starting the dialogue with all the information. Make that with all the SAME information that a parent of a student without disabilities receives.

Inclusion is having professionals who know the student well help general educators design and deliver standards-based instruction to the student with the disability. To be clear, that does not mean that the general educator sub-contracts the planning, accommodating, modifying, teaching, and grading to a "specialist" or, in sandier times, an "aide". It means that the teacher with the subject matter expertise is the teacher actually teaching our most vulnerable learners.

Inclusion is seeing classrooms, most classrooms, reflect the overall demographics of the student body. Not classrooms (including elective classes) with English Learners and "double-F's" (at-risk of dropping-out) and kids with IEPs taking a completely different course of study as taught by a completely different set of school employees from the rest of the students.

Inclusion is working when the student's IEP goals are different (and loftier) with each passing year.

Inclusion is expecting that every student will participate in his/her community of learners. Not that every student will participate in everything, but that the opportunity to participate meaningfully with non-disabled peers is considered, fostered, and achieved.

Inclusion is grading all students. Not giving a "Z" grade (as in "present" but not worth the effort of gauging progress). Not giving an inflated, "feel-good" grade. Just grading the student in alignment with his/her IEP.

Inclusion is also testing all students. Not just some students, but all students. Because we care that each student is making progress and meeting standards. Even ones with cognitive disabilities. Dare I say, especially students with cognitive disabilities so that we can identify and celebrate those teachers and instructional methods that are effective.

People are people.
All means all.

* We support multi-sensory processing when appropriate.

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATOR REPORT: 4/16/09
When the Crab Queen called this site (our neighborhood Senior High School) and spoke with a counselor without identifying the student as a person with a developmental disability, the list of choices was:
* World Languages (French or Spanish)
* Computers
* Pre-Engineering

With a prompt, the counselor added:
* Band
* "But no Art, no Drama...those are sophomore options."

With another probing question from our crack(ed shell) reporter:
* "Yes, a couple freshman are put into ASB (student government)." But they're elected, of course.
* Yearbook
* Journalism

The CQ also extracted information that even PE is substitutable with:
* JROTC
* Athletics (as in by try-out)