NASHVILLE — School leaders are vital to setting a culture of inclusion for all students, especially those with disabilities, said two early childhood educators during a session at the National School Leadership Conference on Tuesday.
Those efforts begin with the school leader emphasizing to staff and families that all children can learn in age-appropriate general education classrooms with needs-driven curriculum, said Erika Gunter, assistant principal of Brandywine Early Education Programs, and Shanique Royce, assistant principal of Red Clay Early Years Program, both in Wilmington, Delaware. Additionally, inclusive learning benefits students with and without disabilities, they said.
It's also about actions, including giving students the opportunity to show what they know, giving students supports through specially designed instruction, setting high expectations, and assuming students will be successful, Gunter said.
"The fact is students with IEPs [individualized education programs] do not need to be able to meet the same exact grade for success, but they do need to be held to the same high expectations," Gunter said.
Gunter and Royce referred to this mindset as "presuming competence," saying that focusing on students' potential is the "least dangerous assumption."
"It seems simple, but I see that a lot of our educators live in this deficit space," Gunter said.
"We need to shift our thinking to always letting students try,” she added. “Then if we have implemented modifications with fidelity, and they aren't successful, and we collect data instead of opinions — then we can look at the correct setting for them if it's not inclusive."
Gunter and Royce said school leaders can steer this work by:
- Establishing an inclusive climate and vision.
- Building staff capacity through professional development.
- Supporting collaboration between general and special educators.
- Allocating resources to support inclusive practices and special education supports.
- Engaging with families and the community to help support inclusive opportunities.
- Monitoring and evaluating efforts to make data-driven decisions.
While academics are important, another vital benefit of inclusive classrooms are the social interactions between students with and without disabilities, Royce said.
"This is where it matters, and it's important for kids to be exposed and have positive social interactions," Royce said.
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