From the Desk of Tim LaCourt Teach Like A Champion by Doug Lemov 2010, John Wiley & Sons In the foreword to Teach Like A Champion, Norman Atkins describes the author’s mission as, “The fight for educational equity”. The book reflects Mr. Lemov’s mission in its description of more than 60 techniques that keep an eye on high expectations and learning objectives. One technique offers ways to provide students with errorless learning. Technique 1, No Opt Out, describes variants of a procedure that bring students who do not know the answer, to answering correctly as often as possible: When a s ..read more

Author: John Walsh, M.Ed. What if your students had to perform every Friday night in a stadium of cheering fans?  If you observe them preparing for that performance during the week, you will notice two key ingredients also found in a quality curricular lesson. The athletic skills utilized during practices are the number of repetitions each athlete practices for the skill they perform and the number of athletes engaged in performing that skill at any particular time during that practice session. Regardless of the sport you observe, these two attributes are always ..read more

I recognize that the phrase ‘parent involvement’ is certainly inadequate when you truly think about the importance of the relationship between the family and the educators.  First, the phrase signifies a one-way street rather than the partnership it is intended to be.  Second, perhaps the word ‘engagement’ should be used to reflect the active roles that parents play at home and in the school. Finally, both parent and educator should be referenced in the title to describe the importance of a shared commitment to the student from both entities.  In any case, the partnership betwe ..read more

Author: Nicole Gallagher, M.Ed., Conroe Independent School District The song that comes to mind when I think of peer tutoring is “With a Little Help from my Friends” by the Beatles. We all need help from our friends from time to time. The use of peer support in my inclusive classroom is truly more beneficial than any other strategy.  Although, it is not a strategy I use as often as I should I must admit.  Sometimes I truly forget that I am not alone in my classroom. I have students that are ready and willing to help other people to understand the day’s tasks. Peer tutoring is not on ..read more

Author: Tim LaCourt, M.Ed. In my career as a special education teacher, curriculum supervisor, and then principal, Inclusion was a priority focus; however, there always seemed to be a missing link in the process of including students with disabilities—especially more severe conditions—into the general population of students. I had an early spring meeting with a fellow principal whose elementary campus was going to be welcoming back several students with disabilities who had previously been served in a centralized program.  The principal was concerned about how these students would be rec ..read more

Author: Cathy Giardina, Stetson & Associates, Inc. What is the most underutilized resource in schools today? PEERS! Peer assistance in schools has been a valid teaching strategy for as long as schools have existed.  Peer programs allow students to help other students with academic and social support throughout the school day.  It takes different forms ranging from informal programs to structured formal systems, but there is much research about the value of building these natural supports—peers, buddies, friends—in and out of the classrooms. None of this is surprising to a parent ..read more

Over the past year, the Inclusive Schools Network has selected a range of topics to serve as a spotlight for each month’s newsletter.  These topics have typically reflected school or classroom level issues, including strategies for collaborative teachers, effective use of paraeducator services, instructional strategies that support inclusive practices and the important role of the principal.  This month, we are using a larger lens to focus on district-wide challenges, and solutions for implementing inclusive practices across entire school districts. To address this topic, we intervi ..read more

The learning environment should be safe, healthy and supportive to develop young children’s exploration and independence. The learning environment should encourage children’s initiative, active exploration of materials, and sustained meaningful engagement with other children, adults, and activities. When the physical structure and orgnaization of the learning environment meets quality standards, student engagement is increased and opportunities for learning are maximized. Physical Structure The first element of an effective ECSE environment is the physical structure. Physical structure refers ..read more

Finding My Way Books honors children with disabilities by sharing their stories and celebration their inclusion. This year, Finding My Way Books is sharing the story of Onika. Onika Wants to Help shares the story of four friends and how their lives changed after the Rainbow School was built in their village in Tanzania. For the first time, they can attend school. Onika’s story celebrates a powerful message of inclusion. Onika has intellectual disabilities. Her friends are autistic and have intellectual disabilities. BUY THE BOOK Finding My Way Books is sharing the following free resources to ..read more

Kids Included Together (KIT) & Changing Perspectives worked in collaboration to bring you The 2022 Inclusive Schools Week Activity Guide to celebrate Inclusive Schools Week 2022, December 5-9. This activity guide is meant to be utilized by teachers during Inclusive Schools Week 2022. While Inclusive Schools Week is intended to provide support to all marginalized students, this guide is focused on disability inclusion. You will find learning intentions, educator resources, and activities centered around 5 disability-inclusive themes, one for each day of the week. We encourage teachers to ..read more