What was the initial challenge with Mia's education?

Mia was in special education almost all day with little progress, prompting collaboration to include her in regular education.

How has inclusion impacted Mia at Tracy Elementary?

Mia has made tremendous progress socially and academically, forming genuine friendships and benefiting from a supportive classroom environment.

What is the main goal of inclusion at Tracy Elementary?

To create a family atmosphere where all students accept one another and learn kindness, compassion, and acceptance.

Who is Mason and what is the focus of his educational inclusion?

Mason is an 8-year-old living with autism, and the focus is on inclusion for a supportive and engaging learning environment for him and others.

How do teachers at Mason's school ensure effective inclusion?

Teachers collaborate with aides and use inclusive strategies that benefit all students, not just those with special needs.

Inclusion Classrooms

00:07:48

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy2lqL5iteM

Summary

TLDRThe video highlights the positive experiences of integrating special needs students, Mia and Mason, into general education classrooms. Initially, Mia was in special education most of the day with limited improvement. However, a collaborative effort involving special education staff, therapists, teachers, and assistants led to her gradual inclusion in regular classes. This not only enhanced her academic progress but also significantly improved her social interactions, leading to genuine friendships. At Tracy Elementary, inclusion aims to foster a family-like atmosphere where every pupil is accepted and valued. Similarly, Stephanie Brown shares her son Mason's experience, emphasizing the importance of having a welcoming school climate for all children. Mason, living with autism, benefits from supportive peers and teachers who understand the value of inclusive education. Such an approach ensures that adjustments made for Mason also aid other children, thus promoting an environment where special strategies benefit the entire class. Both cases underscore the profound impact of inclusion on personal growth and community within schools.

Takeaways

🤝 Collaboration between educators, therapists, and family is key to successful inclusion.
📈 Inclusion in general education classrooms enhances both academic and social growth.
👫 Genuine friendships can develop when classrooms are inclusive.
🏫 Schools like Tracy Elementary strive for a family-like, accepting atmosphere for all students.
🌍 Teaching kindness and acceptance is essential for preparing students for life.
🎓 Inclusive education benefits all children, not just those with special needs.
🧠 Teachers play a crucial role in implementing and believing in inclusive strategies.
🔄 Adjustments for special needs students can positively impact other students.
💬 Classmates become supportive partners in an inclusive setting.
❤️ Inclusion changes lives by promoting acceptance and understanding.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:07:48
Mia, who started kindergarten in special education and saw little improvement, benefitted greatly from collaborative efforts by teachers, therapists, and aides. These efforts focused on easing her into regular education, starting with half-day inclusion and progressing from there, improving her social interactions with peers and acceptance within the classroom. Inclusion at Tracy Elementary is emphasized across all grade levels, aiming to nurture a family atmosphere where every student feels accepted despite challenges. Mia’s experience has been life-changing, as she now has friends and a supportive teacher, illustrating the importance of teaching kindness and acceptance at an early age. Her case exemplifies that inclusion not only supports diverse learners but also enriches all students by teaching acceptance and compassion, essential lifelong skills.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

What was the initial challenge with Mia's education?
Mia was in special education almost all day with little progress, prompting collaboration to include her in regular education.
How has inclusion impacted Mia at Tracy Elementary?
Mia has made tremendous progress socially and academically, forming genuine friendships and benefiting from a supportive classroom environment.
What is the main goal of inclusion at Tracy Elementary?
To create a family atmosphere where all students accept one another and learn kindness, compassion, and acceptance.
Who is Mason and what is the focus of his educational inclusion?
Mason is an 8-year-old living with autism, and the focus is on inclusion for a supportive and engaging learning environment for him and others.
How do teachers at Mason's school ensure effective inclusion?
Teachers collaborate with aides and use inclusive strategies that benefit all students, not just those with special needs.

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Subtitles

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00:00:12
[Music]
00:00:14
okay when we first went to Tracy
00:00:17
elementary Nia went into kindergarten
00:00:19
and she was in special education almost
00:00:22
the entire day we really didn't see any
00:00:24
improvement at all we're really
00:00:26
wondering what we should be doing we
00:00:28
knew we couldn't just put me in the
00:00:29
classroom and cross our fingers so it
00:00:31
was a collaborative effort with special
00:00:35
education department
00:00:36
Mia's therapists the teachers and her
00:00:39
assistants we all work together to come
00:00:42
up with a plan for me in the classroom
00:00:43
and it's worked amazing
00:00:46
she started half-day and regular ed and
00:00:49
has worked up to doing more time in
00:00:50
regular ed the progression has just been
00:00:54
tremendous we have seen growth with her
00:00:57
peers in her acting when we first
00:00:59
started it was a team collaboration so
00:01:01
it does take assistance from the assist
00:01:04
in the classroom other staff members to
00:01:06
build upon planning working together to
00:01:09
get those benefits we have an eighth in
00:01:12
our classroom a lot of the times but a
00:01:14
majority of the time she can kind of
00:01:16
step back and the other students will
00:01:19
help me a inclusion at tri-c Elementary
00:01:22
is something that we strive to do at
00:01:24
every grade level we want all of our
00:01:27
students to experience that family
00:01:29
atmosphere we want them to accept one
00:01:31
another for who they are and all
00:01:33
classrooms school-wide so inclusion is a
00:01:36
big part of what we do so it was kind of
00:01:38
scary for everybody thinking how are we
00:01:42
gonna have Mia in the classroom how are
00:01:44
the kids gonna react to her are they
00:01:46
gonna bully her are they going to accept
00:01:49
her but Traci elementary was willing to
00:01:52
give it a shot so we agreed to put her
00:01:55
in half-day general education and the
00:01:58
other half in the resource room and I
00:02:00
can tell you it's been life-changing for
00:02:03
my daughter one time
00:02:07
she said something funny and she makes
00:02:10
me laugh I am grateful for the
00:02:14
friendship that Amelia Indiana it's
00:02:17
unique to the two of them she loves me
00:02:20
just the way that she is she doesn't
00:02:23
want to change me and she doesn't try to
00:02:26
change her me and never makes Amelia
00:02:29
feel less than she never leaves her out
00:02:33
of a group
00:02:34
she's never gonna make fun of her for
00:02:36
what she wears or how she has her hair
00:02:39
fixed so what's changed with Mia
00:02:41
she has real friends now friends that
00:02:45
help her in the classroom friends that
00:02:47
are concerned about her a teacher that
00:02:49
believes in her so much of our schools
00:02:51
are focused on test scores and getting
00:02:57
straight A's and I don't think there's
00:03:00
anything wrong with teaching kindness
00:03:02
compassion and acceptance for people
00:03:05
that are different I think overall it
00:03:07
makes the world a better place it's very
00:03:10
helpful to teach those other students
00:03:13
acceptance and to realize that there are
00:03:17
different people in the world or that
00:03:19
there's people in the world that are
00:03:21
different than they are and so that's
00:03:24
something they're going to encounter for
00:03:25
the rest of their life and so I think
00:03:27
it's super important that they learn
00:03:29
those skills now and station partners
00:03:32
with her and we always like talk to each
00:03:35
I talk to Mia sometimes and we take
00:03:37
turns doing different things I like
00:03:41
having her in our classroom I love that
00:03:45
she's like a fruit than all of us she's
00:03:47
really fun she's really nice and she
00:03:50
gives hugs it's really nice of her we're
00:03:53
just thrilled to have the opportunity to
00:03:55
have any kid here regardless of their
00:03:58
strengths or
00:03:59
the hurdles that they may have to
00:04:00
overcome my daughter Mia is proof that
00:04:03
inclusion benefits all children
00:04:07
you
00:04:20
you
00:04:28
[Music]
00:04:36
hi my name is Stephanie Brown and I am
00:04:39
the proud mother of Mason he is 8 years
00:04:43
old and he is in the 2nd grade at
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unitypoint the purpose of doing these
00:04:50
videos is to talk about the importance
00:04:52
of inclusion and how we want to create a
00:04:55
school that has a welcoming atmosphere
00:04:57
not just for Mason who happens to be
00:05:00
living with autism but for all children
00:05:02
having Mason in the classroom has been a
00:05:06
huge learning experience for me and of
00:05:09
course a huge learning experience for
00:05:11
the kid Mason has a gift of a mother
00:05:16
that advocates very well for him
00:05:18
Mason's mother understands that there's
00:05:20
some really important things like who is
00:05:22
a good partner with Mason who could
00:05:24
travel with Mason on to 2nd grade for
00:05:26
that big transition about different
00:05:28
classrooms for a new teacher so we made
00:05:31
sure that one of the students that came
00:05:32
with him was someone who was very
00:05:35
supportive of him the goal here is to
00:05:38
make sure that our general education
00:05:40
classroom teachers are well equipped and
00:05:42
that our students have the opportunity
00:05:44
to learn from each other funny
00:05:48
he plays with me a lot recess he always
00:06:00
makes me laugh and he does funny things
00:06:03
it's not a disease yeah yeah he's
00:06:08
planning the other piece of it that I
00:06:10
think is also important is that we also
00:06:11
trust our teachers and so we have
00:06:14
teachers that that believe in the
00:06:16
inclusive model and find it to be really
00:06:19
important and understand the benefit for
00:06:22
all students and so when you have that
00:06:25
teacher buy-in I think that that makes a
00:06:27
huge difference so because our teachers
00:06:29
have that I think that that's another
00:06:31
thing that really makes it work well one
00:06:33
of the great things about the inclusive
00:06:36
classroom plan is that Mason is in our
00:06:40
classroom for all instruction he is held
00:06:43
to the same standard as the other
00:06:46
students the only adjustment that's made
00:06:49
for him and several others is that they
00:06:51
might have an aide that works with them
00:06:53
they might need additional small group
00:06:56
teaching if I pulled him out of the room
00:06:59
and he was one-on-one or even in a
00:07:01
smaller group I don't think he'd be able
00:07:04
to benefit as much the other thing
00:07:08
that's been really great is what's good
00:07:10
for Mason is often what's good for all
00:07:14
the kids
00:07:15
so if there's something I'm doing for
00:07:16
for Mason in particular what I've
00:07:20
noticed is there are a bunch of kids in
00:07:23
the classroom that also responds really
00:07:25
well now other kids will see that and I
00:07:28
can offer it to them too so it
00:07:29
normalizes it isn't Mason gets the
00:07:32
special stuff and he gets to use it it's
00:07:34
this stuff is for everybody we're all in
00:07:37
it together and we are doing what's best
00:07:38
for kids