Why Inclusion? Melissa Collins – Exceptional Children’s Teacher & Maria Miller – 3rd Grade Classroom Teacher Haywood County Schools Bethel Elementary WHAT IT IS NOT WHAT IT IS

WHY INCLUSION? All students learning and working together All students gain awareness and understanding of each others strengths Serving all students in regular classroom setting Grade level curriculum

WHAT INCLUSION IS NOT Having one teacher provide instruction while other teacher is acting as a teacher assistant Instruction solely provided in grade level classroom Same goals for all students Expecting all students to learn the same way Providing one type of assessment for all students Focusing on one subgroup of students

INCLUSION IS… Co teaching teams Sharing the same philosophy Joint ownership of classroom and students Ongoing Communication Growing, Learning, & Planning together

Inclusion with Title I All students are served by the classroom teacher and Title I teacher Classroom teacher and Title I teacher both teach guided reading groups during a 2 hour block Title I teacher provides additional small group instruction for math Groups rotate between teachers every 1-2 weeks

Grouping students for title I instruction Teachers use data for grouping students (reading and math) Grouping is based on standard based learning and gaps in knowledge Flexible grouping throughout the year

Inclusion with ec WHAT STUDENTS BENEFIT? Students that are performing no more than 2 years below grade level Minor behavior problems IEP goals can be met through grade level curriculum

Why doesn’t every school use inclusion Not enough teachers to serve all children at all grade levels Difficult to plan with teachers Not every school has Title I funding Some schools don’t believe in this philosophy

So I’m going to be involved in an inclusive model. Where do I start? Get to know your students (talk with previous teacher, dissect data) Get to know the teacher(s) you will be working with Work with your co-teacher to schedule Decide on grouping BE FLEXIBLE