Establishing an Inclusion Team

Presented by: Jennifer Ciochina, Christina Curtis, Mandy Nelson

~ Crown Point Community School Corporation ~

Jennifer Ciochina

Jennifer Ciochina has been working in the Crown Point Community School Corporation for 10 years. She has taught in a resource setting and is currently teaching in an Applied Skills Classroom at Eisenhower Elementary School.

Christina Curtis

Christina Curtis has been working in the Crown Point Community School Corporation for 6 years. She has taught in the Applied Skills Classroom at Douglas MacArthur for the last five years after the program was moved from another elementary school in the corporation.

Mandy Nelson

Mandy Nelson has been working in the Crown Point Community School Corporation for 5 years. She has taught in the same middle school Applied Skills Classroom at Colonel John Wheeler.

Mission Statement:

We are committed to cultivating intentional, compassionate relationships with and between students of all abilities, ensuring all students are integrated into the general education classroom to the maximum extent possible.

Creating a Team

At all 3 buildings, the special education teachers worked with their building principals to establish a team for the 2020-2021 academic school year. Teams were comprised of the following team members: Principal, special education staff, general education teachers, specials teachers, related staff, school counselors, office staff, and custodians.

~ INCLUSION IS WITHIN EVERYONE'S ABILITY ~

Inclusive Practices Assessment

All principals in the Crown Point Community School Corporation reflected and filled out the assessment. Each principal met with the director of Exceptional Education to review their results and establish goals.

Inclusive Practices within Inclusion Teams

Assessment was given to the inclusion team to review, reflect, and fill out based on their school. Inclusion teams met with general education teams to discuss the assessment in further detail.

Created a survey

The Inclusion team created a survey that was sent out to the entire staff at all 3 locations. A survey was created in order for the inclusion team to gage where each of the buildings are in terms of inclusion. This survey was given to collect teacher input regarding our school's current inclusive practices for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

survey Results

The inclusion teams at each individual school reviewed the results.

Concepts of Inclusion

Based on the results, the team observed that a professional development regarding Content Connectors is needed.

How Comfortable are you?

Based on the results, the team observed that the staff are majority of staff are comfortable having applied skills students in their classroom.

Professional Development Ideas

Based on the results, the team noticed that many staff members would like professional development starting from the beginning: Special Education 101.

Professional Development

Special Education Professional Development 101
- Disability Awareness
- Managing Behaviors (Identifying the Trigger)
- Content Connectors/Universal Design for Learning
- Tools/Resources to help in the Inclusion Setting independently
- Co-teaching
- Disability Awareness with general education peers

Goals for the remainder of the school year

Eisenhower Goal: After Spring Break, the inclusion team will be participating in a book study: Your Students, My Students, Our Students: Rethinking Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms. Once the book study is completed, the inclusion team will be determining the next steps.
MacArthur Goal: After Spring Break, the inclusion team will continue to fine tune our vision for inclusion and work on solving existing scheduling barriers and conflicts between applied skills classrooms and general education classrooms.
Wheeler Goal: After Spring Break, the inclusion team will be working on students with the most significant needs joining their general education classrooms.

Goals for 2021-2022

Eisenhower Elementary School

5th grade students engaging in a STEM activity.

Macarthur elementary school

K-5th grade students make cards and ornaments for residents at Tradewinds Assisted Living for the holidays.

wheeler middle school

6th-8th grade students serving Thanksgiving Feast to the community.

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