Building a Community of
Inclusion
Lynchburg City Schools
Dana Guarino-Murphey, ECSE Teacher
Polly Smith, ECSE Teacher
Objective
A Switch In Thinking
Beginning Considerations:
• Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• Virginia Council of Administrators for Special
Education announces early learning is “IN”…
High School reform is “OUT”… START EARLY
• Inclusion early = inclusion later
• A supportive administration is essential
• Where are you now in providing ECSE
services?
What Do You Want For Children?
• Individually circle five characteristics
• In a small group come to a consensus of
3-5 characteristics
• Creating a unified list
• How do we achieve these characteristics
for children? Inclusive Practices
Benefits to
Children With Disabilities
•Experiencing a more stimulating environment with a
broader range of learning experiences
•Forming a wider circle of friends
•Serving as role models
•Learning to be more independent and to rely more on peers instead
of teachers
•Learning age-appropriate social and play skills
•Acquiring developmentally advanced skills
•Exhibiting higher levels of social participation
•Opportunity for the child to be assessed in the natural environment
DEC/NAEYC. (2009) Early childhood inclusion: A joint position statement of the
Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina,
FPG Child Development Institute.
Benefits to
Children Without Disabilities
•Having more chances to be leaders, teachers or role models,
thereby increasing their self-confidence
•Making normal or greater than expected developmental
progress
•Learning to appreciate the similarities and differences
between people at an early age
•Developing favorable attitudes and increasing their comfort
level around people with disabilities
•Becoming sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities
•Having opportunities to form friendships with children with
disabilities
DEC/NAEYC. (2009) Early childhood inclusion: A joint position statement of the
Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina,
FPG Child Development Institute.
Benefits for Your School System
Financial Benefits
• LCS has experienced zero mediations and/or denials at the preschool level
as well as during transitions to kindergarten
• Budget Savings - Ten classrooms emptied from school building; lessening
bus transportation, custodial care, secretarial, electricity, cafeteria needs,
etc. (Varies for each locality)
Educational Benefits
• Children with disabilities develop knowledge from peers; language, social,
and school functioning skills
• Improvement of State Performance Plan outcomes and requirements from
federal/state
• Community of inclusion (Ownership from all stakeholders): Foundation for
inclusive practices throughout the educational system
Lynchburg City Schools
Our Journey
1993-94 First Inclusion Site Established
• Eight ECSE children included within a community preschool (four
classrooms)
• 1 teacher and 1 teacher assistant assigned to the community preschool
• financial resources provided
1994-95 Expansion to an Additional Community Preschool Site
• Eight more ECSE children included in regular education classrooms
• Services in community settings as well as public pre-kindergarten
classrooms were supported as opportunities were available
Both of these sites continue to collaborate with LCS at this time.
Lynchburg City Schools
Our Journey
1995-2010 DSS Funded Training for Community Preschools
• LCS provided and staffed training justified through Child Find
• Training on high quality early childhood programming
• Child development, room arrangement, daily routine, adult child
interactions, conflict resolution…
2007 Information and Support from JMU-T/TAC
Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers (IPOP)
• Self Reflection: 85% of children being served in self-contained classrooms
• Visited other systems: Augusta County, Montgomery County and
Chesterfield County
• Identified the key players in our community: the relationships that had
been built through LCS providing training for quality programs. This
became our foundation to expand into community settings.
Lynchburg City Schools
Our Journey
Created an IPOP Team of Key Players
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T/TAC
LCS administration
LCS transportation department
ECSE teachers
Parents of preschool children with disabilities
Community preschool directors, Head Start, Smart Beginnings, regular
education staff
Developed Community Collaboration Models
Sites that hold 6-8 slots in their enrollment specifically for LCS ECSE
placement. Qualities to look for when identifying a potential community
program to collaborate: quality, professionalism, initiative
Grew from 2 sites to 9 sites
Natural Environments: Where children are, prior to being identified to
include; home, child care setting, community preschools
Lynchburg City Schools
Our Journey
Community Trainings
• Provide community training that supports best practice: child
development, room arrangement, daily routine, adult child interactions,
conflict resolution (Through these trainings key players are identified to
build relationships and collaborative agreements.)
Identify Available Resources
• People power: Training ECSE staff (co-teaching, collaboration), reconfigure
staffing
• Knowledge
• Materials
Lynchburg City Schools
Our Journey
Then
85% of children serviced using a self contained
model 15% of children included
2012
85% of children are included and 15% serviced
using a self contained model
Continuum of Services – Service Options
Service Option
Self-Contained
Home Based
Playgroup
Resource
Inclusion Sites
Definition
ECSE classroom with 8 children with disabilities and significant
adult support.
Service for younger children who are not enrolled by their family
in a community preschool program.
Provided in conjunction with home based services to provide
social experiences. Ideally with same aged typically developing
peers attending in a community atmosphere.
Itinerant service provided to families that have placed their child
in a childcare/preschool facility.
Placement provided to older preschool aged children with a range
of disabilities that require significant support. Inclusion sites are
programs that LCS has collaborative relationships. These sites
hold 6-8 slots in their enrollment specifically for LCS ECSE
placement. In essence we are dispersing/including a center
based classroom through the program. This guarantees that the
staff that would have been assigned to a self-contained classroom
is assigned to a community site. Tuition for these slots is
supported through 619 funds.
Our 3 Key Elements for Success in
Collaborative Inclusion Models
• Training: Offer training to support the staff at the community
inclusion sites. Access T/TAC and other local sources to create
training opportunities. ECSE teachers attend trainings
alongside the practitioners from their community sites
• Resources: Children MUST come with resources. Knowledge,
materials, ideas and additional staff come into the center to
enhance the program
• Support for ECSE staff: Due to alternative staffing
configurations, ECSE staff will need training and a new skill
set: transitioning from a primary to a co-teaching service
model, sharing control, collaboration skills, and knowledge of
typical child development
Implementation Plan
• What is your system doing well in regards to
providing inclusive services?
• How can you do more of it?
• Looking at our program model what do you
think may work for your locality?
• Identify YOUR key players.
Contact Information
Lynchburg City Schools
Hutcherson Early Learning Program
409 Perrymont Avenue
Lynchburg, VA 24502
(434) 522-3756
Dana Guarino- Murphey, ECSE Teacher
[email protected]
Polly Smith, ECSE Teacher
[email protected]
Judy Trent, Principal
[email protected]
Wyllys VanDerwerker, Director of Special Education
[email protected]
Inclusion
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