For a school full of little people,
Elkhart Elementary School is certainly doing some great big
things. The campus recently received state recognition as a
Promising Practice school for their campus-wide special education
inclusion program.
According
to campus principal Mike Moon, the program began in 1991 with the
district's kindergarten class and over the years has expanded
campus-wide.
Inclusion allows children
identified as special needs students to remain in the classroom
with non-special needs students. A special education teacher,
Title I teacher and/or paraprofessional visits the classes on a
specific schedule working with all students in the class.
"No one in the class knows they are
identified as a special needs child, except for the teacher," said
second-grade teacher Allison Mays. "No one student stands out in a
negative way."
Mays said that when the program was
first brought to her room, she was skeptical, but after less than
two days she was convinced the program was a good one.
"I am sold on the inclusion program
100 percent," she said. "I can't believe we ever thought sending a
student out of the classroom for extra help was the right thing to
do."
Mays explained that one of the more
important things inclusion does is lessen the gap between where
the student is and where they need to be educationally.
"The student may be a little
behind," she said. "But because they are in the classroom, they
aren't missing lessons and are getting the help they need at the
same time."
Teachers at Elkhart Elementary gave
high marks to the program, citing multiple benefits to all
students on the campus.
"A special education child achieves
more when they are around children who do not have special needs,"
said first- and second-grade multi-age teacher Christi Coleman.
"The kids learn from each other.
"They also feel more socially
accepted, causing less behavioral problems," she explained, "and
are more compassionate to the less fortunate students."
According to inclusion teacher
Senette Nelms, having more than one teacher in the classroom helps
keep students' attention.
"Kids learn in different ways,"
Nelms said. "Having different teachers in the room helps us catch
and keep student interest in as many ways as possible.
"Students don't seem to fall
through the cracks," she added. "Everyone feels like they belong."
Third- and fourth-grade multi-age
teacher Tana Herring, who has a disabled student in her classroom,
may see the greatest benefit of the program - it teaches the
students about compassion.
"The other students don't see (the
student) as disabled," she said. "They take turns moving (the
student) to the different centers and even fight over who gets to
move them next.
"The highlight of the year for me
though, is that class members invite (the student) to birthday
parties," she added. "They aren't afraid to touch (the student) or
to do things for them.
"They sort of take over (the
student's) care while they are in the classroom."
Fourth-grade teacher Sarah Johnson
spoke about the lack of discrimination involved in the inclusion
program.
"I sometimes forget who the special
needs students are," she said. "They are all my kids."
Elkhart Elementary is one of only
four campuses to receive the Promising Practice recognition this
year and is the only campus to be recognized for a campus-wide
program.
Campus principal Mike Moon said the
school is nominated for the recognition by the Texas Education
Agency Special Education Division. The campus must put together a
paper and submit it, then the program is validated by a member of
the TEA.
"Any school in the state that has a
promising program is recognized on the premise that they must
share the practice with other Texas teachers," Moon said,
reporting that about two groups a week, from all over the state,
have visited the campus to view the program firsthand.
A group of about nine teachers and
administrators from the campus also travels to other schools and
conferences to give presentations on the program.
Date published: 2/27/2005
- Herald-Press
