Inclusion in Afterschool: Serving Students with Specific Needs THE WHY’S AND THE HOW’S TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Inclusion vs Accommodations Let’s make sure we understand the difference…. and why it’s so important to our students.

Two Very Different Terms Inclusion: (n) 1. The act of making someone or something a part of a group or total. 2. The act of making someone or something a part of something. Accommodation: (n) 1. something supplied for convenience or to satisfy a need.

Why Inclusion? 1. Legal: Use of Federal Funds 2. Research: Student Performance in Inclusive Environments 3. Creates Alignment with School Day 4. Supports Parents; Facilitates Staff/Family Relationships 5. It’s the Right Thing to do for the STUDENTS!

U.S. Department of Education: 21 st CCLC Inclusion Initiative 6 California Utah Massachusetts Lessons from the Field: Site Observation Visits Site Training and Technical Assistance Visits Webinars and Webinar Feedback Technical Working Group Member Feedback Literature Review

Possible Barriers to Inclusion? 7 Access, Outreach and Recruitment Bridging Connections With Schools, Families and Communities Behavior and Development Differentiated Supports and Differentiated Environments Leveraging Resources and Expertise to Support All Students

Access, Outreach and Recruitment: Action Areas  Write a policy on inclusion.  Invite parents to tour the program.  Reserve slots for students with disabilities.  Target outreach to students with disabilities.  Work with your school or district special education offices to identify potential student participants.  Use enrolled students to recruit new students. 8

 Offer training on inclusion to all program staff, partnering organization staff, and volunteers.  Ask Special Education Team at school to facilitate staff trainings and attend OST meetings to discuss student progress and needs.  Develop a plan for family engagement.  Join existing community efforts to support children and families.  Leverage opportunities for staff to be part of the IEP process.  Encourage communication between OST and school-day staff. 9 Bridging Connections With Schools, Families and Communities: Action Are as

Behavior and Development: Action Areas  Facilitate development rather than managing behavior.  Conduct informal check-ins.  Look at physical surroundings of the program from students’ perspectives  View behavior as communication and respond with compassion and understanding.  Facilitate activities that teach the skills students are lacking.  Include student voice as a developmental strategy. 10

Differentiated Supports and Differentiated Environments: Action Areas  Design opportunities for staff to plan accommodations for activities.  Discuss differentiated support during the IEP meeting.  Emphasize diverse learners and plan for differences.  Include student choice as a support strategy.  Leverage the flexibility of OST space for individualized instruction. 11

Leveraging Resources and Expertise to Support All Students: Action Areas  Create a group to share resources.  Create deliberate links with and among community agencies.  Partner with local colleges and universities to support students.  Use internal resources and expertise.  Include students in meetings as experts on their own strengths and challenges. 12

Questions/More Information Lisa Wisham Utah State Office of Education