Our "Not So Typical" Classrooms

Now Offering Professional Development!

As you know, I am passionate about inclusive education and loves to share what I've learned from being "in the trenches". I spent over 15 years as an inclusion classroom teacher in a fully inclusive school system.

If you are eager to learn what inclusive education is, how to successfully include students with special needs in your classroom, advocate for inclusion or find resources, then we need to connect!

I am available for give keynote presentations, breakout sessions, workshops, and webinars to those interested in successfully including students with disabilities in the classroom.

Current topics include:

Everything You Need to Know About Inclusion (from an Inclusion Teacher)

Creating Inclusive Classrooms for ALL Students

Access for ALL:  Making Accommodations and Modifications to the Curriculum  

Modifying Curriculum to Include Students with Intellectual Disabilities in the General Education Curriculum

I am happy to discuss other topic options to better suit your specific needs. Contact me at theinclusiveclass@gmail.com!

CHEAT SHEET: Role of The Co-Teacher

CHEAT SHEET: Is it Inclusion?

Not sure if your student is being included in their classroom? Download this handy chart to find out! 

5 Essential Classroom Management Strategies to Keep Your Inclusive Class Running Smoothly

As any teacher will tell you, teaching isn't just about lessons, marking school work, and tests. It's also about keeping track of a million little details such as how many available pencils are in your classroom at any given time, which student has gone to the bathroom, who needs to finish an assignment, and remembering to hand-out permission forms for the class field trip. It's enough to make you forget what you have to teach that day!

Classroom management plans are established to make school life a little less chaotic for teachers and a lot more predictable for students. Those plans are made of routines and protocols that are meant to be consistent and effective. For example, students can write their name (or use a name tag) on the board before leaving the classroom. Thus, a teacher only has to glance at the board to know who or who is not in the classroom. 

New Website for Inclusion!

Quick update! Life has been busy and I haven't had a chance to contribute much to this blog. I will have some more time in the next few weeks so hope to get some more posts written. 

Some of the things that have been keeping me busy recently include speaking at a number of conferences recently. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to share my experiences and knowledge at conferences and I love it! 

Modified Lessons All in One Place!

I am currently in the process of putting together an online binder that contains lessons and lesson ideas for modifying curriculum for students with intellectual disabilities.

You can view the binder @ http://bit.ly/modifiedlessons.

4 Things That Every School Needs to Make Inclusion Work

How many times have you heard a parent or teacher say, "Inclusion doesn't work"? I used to cringe when people would make such a bold statement. Trying to resist the urge to retort in what would likely be an unprofessional show of frustration, I would give an overview of 30 years of research to support inclusion. I also provided a personal account of 15 years teaching in a fully inclusive school system. Some stayed to hear me out, while others politely excused themselves from the conversation.

3 Big Misconceptions About Inclusion

Despite years of research that concludes inclusion is best for students with AND without disabilities, there are STILL misconceptions about inclusive classrooms. In a recent discussion with Understood.org, I summarized 3 of those big misconceptions: 

1.  The first big misconception about inclusion is the concern that the student with disabilities will not be able to “keep up” with the class curriculum. Fortunately, inclusive classrooms recognize that not every child will be learning at the same rate, and at the same time.