inclusion

[Guest guest]

It's been a tough road in HS. My son has had more issues with the school staff

than his typical peers. Zeb is the only student with ID included in general ed

classes at his HS. The school has approximately 1200 students. He is not

included without attitudes from the school's special ed dept. It puts a damper

on how they do business. Zeb creates more work for them. Most of the general

teachers are accepting. We have had some good and some not so good. Some get the

inclusion piece and some count the days until he is out of their class. I do

hear positive statements occassionally followed by the negatives. Today I

received an email from the case manager telling me that the students in Zeb's

American Author's Class(English)chipped in to purchase a gift card so that Zeb

could buy books for summer reading. I was impressed. Zeb's English teacher

worked tirelessly to fully include him in lesson planning and by doing so the

student's really included him as a classmate. Zeb worked very hard to keep up

with the expectations in this class. It was heartwarming to see that his fellow

classmates recognized him and encouraged his efforts as a student.The gift card

was just an added benefit. This is an example of inclusion at it's best. I have

spent 12 yrs preaching best practices in inclusion and finally I am sharing a

positive moment.

Charlyne

Mom to Zeb 17 DS