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Student advocating for brothers’ rights


‘I want to teach people that they need to get to know people for who they are and not for the challenges they may have,’ says Becky Alves
-- Deron Hamel

Reprinted from Leaders, the online news source of Community Living Ontario.

ORILLIA, Ont. - Becky Alves has seen her younger brothers who have autism included and excluded in the school system. When they’re included, Alex, who’s in Grade 10, and Todd, in Grade 8, thrive, she says. For this reason Becky wants to ensure her brothers are included all the time.

Becky, a Grade 12 student at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute (IDCI), is taking action to make school systems more inclusive so all students can thrive in environments where they learn alongside their peers.

As a re:Action 4 Inclusion advisory member at IDCI, Becky and seven of her schoolmates are working to make IDCI’s environment more inclusive for students who have a disability.

The message she’s spreading at school is simple: disability doesn’t define a person.

“I want to teach people that they need to get to know people for who they are and not for the challenges they may have,” Becky tells Community Living Leaders.

When Alex and Todd are included in regular classrooms, other students interact and engage the young men, she says.

“But now they’re both in special education classes and it’s totally different,” Becky adds.

With her youngest brother entering IDCI next year, Becky says she’s motivated to change things so Todd will experience inclusion throughout his high-school years.

Change, she says, needs to stem from shifts in attitudes about how people perceive others who have a disability.

“People like students and staff need to realize that there are options other than what is already in place, and I think that everyone needs to be open minded to the fact that there can be inclusion in schools,” she says.

“Even though (inclusion) is not common at our school right now, it can be in the future, and they need to be open to that in order to make it happen.”

Community Living Leaders caught up with Becky at re:Action 4 Inclusion’s third annual youth conference held in Orillia March 25-27.

At the conference, which is run by students for students, youths were armed with information from guest speakers and interactive activities that promote collaboration to help build inclusive schools and communities.

Despite the current climate in many schools, Becky says she’s seeing positive things that are giving her hope for the future.

Some schools and districts, Becky notes, are making conscious efforts to become more inclusive.

“And that makes me think that maybe eventually my school can be like those ones,” she says.

Honouring an inclusive education visionary: A lifelong community living supporter recalls the career of a mentor

Monday February 28, 2011 -- Kristian Partington
Reprinted from Leaders, the online news source of Community Living Ontario.

Donna Marcaccio, executive director with RYGIEL Supports for Community Living in Hamilton, had the pleasure of working with the recipient of Ontario’s 2011 Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) Inclusive Education Award for more than 35 years.

In fact, it was Jim Hansen’s guidance that altered her career path as a young woman and she sought to honour her mentor’s legacy by nominating him for the prestigious award.

Hansen was relentless in his pursuit for inclusive education, Marcaccio recalls, and as a young volunteer supporting people who have a disability, she was inspired by his passion.

Hansen is a retired superintendent with the Hamilton-Wentworth District Catholic School board. When he began his crusade four decades ago to help one little girl and her family find a place within a community school, there was no precedent for such action.

But he saw the family’s desire for inclusion and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I remember sitting in his office with parents and he would say to them, ‘If that’s what you want, we’re ‘gonna make it work,’” says Marcaccio. “That was his mindset — where there’s a will there’s a way.”

She says his passion was infectious and he was able to impart his mission to peers throughout the board because he carried about him a sense of trustworthiness. In his professional life, she says, he engaged people and they caught the same fire within themselves.

His model spread throughout the province and beyond, she says. People would move to the area so they could involve their children in his board and eventually, people would travel there from across the globe to see how inclusion changed lives.

There was opposition in the early days, she remembers, “but he was never defeated by it,” and he was never afraid to admit that he needed help. He called upon the best minds in the field for support and amassed a small army of people to take up the call when necessary.

Though Hansen paved the way for inclusive education, Marcaccio warns it should never be taken for granted. Her hope is that by honouring her mentor, whom she agrees is a true pioneer, the CACL can keep the message alive that inclusion is a gift for everyone.

re:Action4Inclusion

Ontario High School Youth Challenged to Take Action!

Community Living Ontario is calling on youth to engage in what they describe as – “ an awesome volunteer opportunity”. They are asking young me and women to be a leader in making their school and community an inclusive and welcoming place for all students and citizens.

There are two opportunities to choose from!
• re:action4Inclusion Conference Committee – Once a year, students from across the province come together to network, learn and explore ways to ensure our schools and communities are welcoming to people of all backgrounds and abilities. We are looking for motivated youth to help plan and provide leadership at our 3rd annual re:action4Inclusion conference - March 2011.

• Youth Advisory Committee – Provide your thoughts and ideas on how youth can be supported to build communities inclusive of all people; be host to a one-day regional event to promote inclusion in your area; and assist the conference committee with the re:action4Inclusion conference.

Young people who want to get engaged are asked to sign up for one of the committees by contacting Linda White at linda@communitylivingontario.ca, by June 27th.

Click on the links below to these three free webinars.

1. Asserting your vision for your child’s inclusive education
2. The Individual Education Plan (IEP)
3. The Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) – A Look At All Perspectives

Seeds of inclusion planted in Uxbridge this spring

High school youth prepped for leadership at secondary school
Monday March 28, 2011 -- Ryan Rogers

Reprinted from Leaders, the online news source of Community Living Ontario.

Student-led activist organization Re:Action4Inclusion continued spreading motivational speaker Norman Kunc’s message of community inclusion at Uxbridge Secondary School (USS) to fight segregation and promote unity.

Organizers prioritized Grade 9 students to plant the seeds of change, with hopes they will germinate into leaders of inclusion until their graduation from USS.

Co-organizer Bethan Morgan, 17, says her group wanted to start with the younger students because their term at USS is just beginning.

“If we start at the bottom, they can bring it on and set a good example for kids coming in next year, and build a foundation over time,” says Morgan.

Kunc, a speaker, writer and consultant of 25 years, shared his stories of growing up through the education system with cerebral palsy and being in a segregated school until he was in Grade 7.

He says once he was integrated into a common school, fellow students were still uncomfortable with people who were different. Kunc examined what it is that makes people uncomfortable, and suggests that it lies in fearing the unknown.

His presentation called “Story of the Stranger” addresses his findings by challenging students to get to know the people in their schools and community and find the threads of experience that are common amongst them.

These stories and similarities establish authentic relationships of inclusion, the goal of his speaking series. The next step after the presentation will be to reconvene the students to see how they felt about the presentation and see how they can incorporate inclusion into their daily habits.

Morgan hopes students will heed Kunc’s call and expand their cliques to learn more about the people around them, and hear their stories. She says every student in that assembly already has one thing in common — they’ve heard Kunc’s message. The young leaders in communities are able to continue to stay engaged with one another through the Community Living Leaders’ Facebook page.

Deirdre Smith is Manager, Standards of Practice and Education at the Ontario College of Teachers. Deirdre is co-editor of a new book of case studies in inclusive education that will be published by SENSE Publishing in early 2011. She has worked with Gordon Porter, Director of Inclusive Education Canada on this project for the last several years. Deirdre has also been a speaker at conference on inclusive education in Toronto, St. John’s and Regina. At the College, Deirdre leads a team of program officers who conduct research, development and implementation activities that promotes continuing competence among members of the College. Smith has been active in policy development and in-service teacher education. She is a former school principal and Special Educational consultant with extensive experience as a Teacher Behavior consultant, Youth Counselor, Pre-Service Teacher Educator and an In-Service Teacher Educator.

Newfoundland and Labrador Educators Speak at Conference

A number fop Newfoundland and Labrador teachers, principals and school officials spoke at the Atlantic Inclusive Education Conference held in August 2010. Some of them are noted below.

Jeff Thompson, Assistant Director of Education – Programs, Western School District; Corner Brook. He talked about how his district promotes the concept of a “professional learning community”. A key part fo the district’s effort involved adopting “a philosophy of doing whatever it takes to ensure each child learns to his/her maximum potential (or at least to the level where s(he) will have an enhanced opportunity to happy and successful in adulthood).”


Patti Winsor, Consultant, Nova Central School District, NL – was featured speaker on differentiated instruction and strategies to make it work in the classroom. It was a very practical workshop and one of the highlights of the conference. Patti is shown on the left with Sherry Gambin-Walsh one of the organizers of the3 conference who works for the Community Inclusion Project.




Sandra Broomfield, Principal & Audrey Hudson, Instructional Resource Teacher at Peacock Primary School, Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Sandra and Audrey (pictured here) shared how they promote inclusion in their school through supporting teachers in a variety of collaborative ways.

Western Canadian Conference on Leadership in Inclusive Education – A Success

The conference drew more than 200 delegates to Regina from November 4-6, 2010 and featured speakers from throughout the country with a focus on Western Canada. The keynotes were President Vianne Timmons of the University of Regina and Michael Bach, Executive Vice President of CACL. They delivered a call to action that effectively started the discussions that followed over the 3 days of the conference. Bendina Miller, President of CACL and Bruce Uditsky, CEO of the Alberta Association for Community Living were featured speakers along with Donna Barrett, Superintendent of Northland School District, Alberta and Tanya Whitney, Principal, Forest Hills School, Saint John, NB. Other speakers addressed policy and program issues that covered a wide range of challenges and opportunities. A number of speakers were interviewed at the conference and clips of their comments will be posted on the www.inclusiveeducation.ca website where you can find the full program and some of the presentations.

From The Edmonton Journal – School moves away from 'coding' kids: Classes integrate all types of students By Karen Kleiss, Edmonton Journal June 8, 2010

EDMONTON - Tonya Roberts can't take her children to the park, because one of her two autistic sons might run away. Toilet training was a nightmare. Seven-year-old Gabriel would lash out when someone got too close. A t five, Layne refused to put his clothes on and still refuses to wear socks. For a long time, Roberts felt isolated and hopeless. "I couldn't see a way forward," she says.

Then she found Crawford Plains School.

Tucked in the city's deep south near 42nd Street and 12th Avenue, it is one of 16 city public schools testing an innovative new program that mixes kids who have special needs into regular classrooms. The two-year pilot project is part of an attempt to move away from "coding" students according to disability, then allotting funds based on the number of children with special needs. Instead, a new report called Setting the Direction encourages the province to move toward an inclusive education system that puts kids of all kinds in one classroom. Alberta Education spokeswoman Zoe Cooper said the province will make an announcement Friday about its response to the framework outlined in Setting the Direction.

Roberts moved to the southernmost corner of the city from the north end so her boys could attend Crawford Plains. She gets choked up when she talks about what the school has meant to her family. "The principal, Jeanne Carter, reached out her hand to me," she said. "She recognized the needs. Talking to her helped me look at the bigger picture."

Carter knows how Roberts feels; more than 20 years ago she adopted a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Sisorder and waged her own battles to get a quality education for her daughter. F our years ago, she and assistant principal Colleen Sayer started the process of integrating kids at the K-6 elementary school. Two years later, when the province started the pilot program, Crawford Plains was a natural fit. "We like to think of our school as a good example of the motto that 'it takes a village to raise a child,' " Sayer says.

At Crawford Plains, one-quarter of the kids have mild to moderate disabilities. The disabilities range from cognitive and behavioural challenges to learning disabilities and physical challenges. A class with 17 children may have six special-needs kids. In the past, educational assistants sometimes formed a "cocoon" around special-needs children, inadvertently isolating them from other kids and sometimes creating dependency, Carter says.

At Crawford Plains, educational assistants move from child to child and classroom to classroom, helping special needs kids develop independence and build confidence. The children seem to barely notice the difference. A boy with autism sits beside one of the smartest girls in the class, because they get along. Children at varying levels buddy up for reading and gym class. The autistic children have a special recess time and play outside with their Grade 6 buddies, who teach them to play on the equipment and just be kids.

"The skills that I've seen them develop, the empathy, the understanding, it's wonderful," Carter says. The inclusion and integration means disabilities begin to disappear, she says. "Everyone just sees that everyone is on their own path." The motto in one classroom is "everyone makes mistakes."

The results are often astonishing, and even heartwarming. Take, for example, the boy who has trouble remembering what order to get dressed for recess: snow pants, then boots, then coat and finally, mittens. Other children help him, every day. "The kids are great about reminding him to get his shoes on, get this out and so on," Carter says.

Or take the autistic boy who loves dinosaurs and gets to colour in his dinosaur colouring book for a set period of time after he finishes a task. The other children remind him when his time is up, and help him focus on schoolwork again.

Ten-year-old Lynzee Kenyon enjoys helping out special-needs kids in her class. "It is fun to see how they learn," she says. "It feels great, because you know you're doing a good deed for someone who doesn't have the same mind as you."

For Tonya Roberts, life is still a struggle. But thanks to the teachers and assistants at Crawford Plains, her son Gabriel will stay dressed and can stay calm enough to sit in a regular classroom much of the time. He has learned to tell people to leave him alone when he feels he is going to lash out. Both boys are toilet trained. "Now we feel a sense of stability," Roberts says. "The kids have a sense of accomplishment. We have a sense of being part of a community, and I'm not isolated at home. Geez, I'm going to start bawling here."

All students benefit from inclusive education: School Board Chairperson School board’s inclusive philosophy a driving force for 41 years
Deron Hamel, Writer, Community Living Leaders. Spring 2010.

Since 1969, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board’s (HWCDSB) philosophy — “Each belongs” — has been a driving force in the board’s effort to ensure that all students are included in every aspect of academic life, no matter their abilities.

The result of this philosophy has been that all students benefit socially and academically, says Patrick Daly, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for HWCDSB.

He points out that students attending schools represented by the Board can expect to find themselves in supportive environments where friendships are made. Academic testing by the province and school board indicates that students of all abilities attain “positive results” in this atmosphere, Daly adds.

“It’s clear to all of us who have seen this system work over the last number of years that there have been two very important results. The first would be the fact that children (who have a disability) are able to attend their neighbourhood schools with their brothers and sisters, their friends and their neighbours, which is their right,” says Daly.

“The other is that other students have benefited — and I’ve seen this on numerous occasions. They benefit from having these young people as their classmates in their schools. They clearly have a much better understanding of the challenges of some of their peers, but also of the gifts that these young people bring to our school.”

Characterized by some as “the most inclusive school board on Earth,” HWCDSB’s philosophy stems from the “Catholic vision of the child,” says Daly.

He adds that the “Each belongs” philosophy has been ingrained in every teacher, principal and administrator in the 57 schools represented by the Board. The philosophy, Daly notes, “has become part of who they are.” “They all ensure that all of our students are included. We have no segregated programs,” says Daly.

“Since we have no segregated programs, all of our students are integrated into the full life of the school, academically, spiritually, and (with) the arts (and) athletics, depending on the abilities of the child and the wishes of the parents.” What has sustained the philosophy, says Daly, is the support of parents and their love for their children, coupled with vigorous staff commitment.

Reprinted from Community Living Leaders, an online news service of Community Living Ontario. www.communitylivingontario.ca

new EDUCATION WATCH

This is our update on inclusive education news and issues that we produce several times each year. This edition has news from Canada, the USA and some international items. It features news on a Global Report prepared by Inclusion International as well as some opinions - pro and con - on CACL's “No Excuses Campaign”. Read 'EDUCATION WATCH" and let us know what you think on the topic.

Email us at inclusiveeducation@cacl.ca

PDF of the full EDUCATION WATCH

Ministry Team Promotes Inclusive Strategies

Dan Goodyear, the Director of Student Support Services, for the Department of Education of Newfoundland & Labrador, has been working with hi provincial team to promote school and classroom practices to support inclusive education in that province. Dan is shown with team members Sandra Taylor (left) and Jackie Fewer-Bennett (right). The team has been working with selected schools that form a “pilot” initiative and have cooperated with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association for Community Living on meetings in four regions of the province to explore issues related to developing more inclusive schools. The partnership with the Ministry is a priority one for the association. A joint planning process for a “Leadership Institute” in August 2010 is now underway.

Inclusive Education Canada – A reminder of a new Initiative

CACL has commissioned a new entity, Inclusive Education Canada to carry a variety of activities to promote inclusive education practice in our country. Access the IEC pamphlet for more details.

CACL Inclusive Education Awards Presented

Awards were presented to two educational leaders at the Toronto Forum on February 13, 2009.

Emily Noble, President of the Canadian Teachers Federation, was presented with an award to recognize both her personal commitment to inclusive education and in recognition of CTF’s focus on working with CACL on the issue during the last 5 years. This work has been supported by elected leaders of CTF as well as current Secretary General Calvin Fraser and his predecessor Julius Buski.

CTF collaborated with CACL on a National Summit on Inclusive Education in 2004 and at a CTF Conference on Building Inclusive Schools in November 2005. The collaboration has continued through other events like the CASHRA Forum in September 2008. Emily Noble and her colleagues at CTF have demonstrated they want to see parents and teachers as allies in the effort to achieve inclusion in our schools.

OISE Professor, Anne Jordan Receives – “CACL National Inclusive Education Award”

Anne Jordan has recently retired as a Professor of Education at OISE/University of Toronto. She has done outstanding research and knowledge development about inclusive education practices. Her focus has been on the teacher and the classroom strategies that make inclusion a reality. Her book – Inclusive Education – Wiley – is an excellent resource for teachers and is widely used in the print and on-line version. CACL is pleased to be able to recognize her work.

CTF collaborated with CACL on a National Summit on Inclusive Education in 2004 and at a CTF Conference on Building Inclusive Schools in November 2005. The collaboration has continued through other events like the CASHRA Forum in September 2008. Emily Noble and her colleagues at CTF have demonstrated they want to see parents and teachers as allies in the effort to achieve inclusion in our schools.

Christa Freiler, Director of Research, Canadian Education Association, ended the Forum by connecting the inclusive education agenda to other and broader efforts for school improvement and school reform. Several other speakers and panelists shared perspectives on the educational aspects of the matter. Check for further information in coming days on the website. You can see the full program and speakers by connecting to -http://www.inclusiveeducation.ca/documents/InclEd-Feb13Forum1.pdf

Inclusive Education Canada Launched

CACL is launching a new initiative to further inclusive education in Canada. “Inclusive Education Canada” (IEC) will bring together a network of individuals who can provide training, consultation, research and information sharing will b e available to both teachers and parents on how to move our schools toward inclusive practice. The members of the IEC network of associates have the knowledge and experience to provide the help support sometimes needed to bring about changes in how schools serve students – and assure that every student is included and every student learns.

Manitoba Summer Institute: Leadership & Collaboration in Inclusive Education July 21-24, 2009

Click HERE to download the PDF

Toronto Star – Column on February 13 Inlcusive Education Event

Helen Henderson wrote a column on the February 13 Forum – “Making Special Education Inclusive” - sponsored by CACL and “Inclusive Education Canada” recently launched to promote and support the development of inclusive education in the country. Helen’s column - Because education is about community – was published on January 24, 2009. To read it use the link below.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/574271

Web Site Promotion

Check out our new bookmark for www.inclusiveeducation.ca

Saskatchewan Educators Address the Issues

Several Saskatchewan educators participated in the Forum - ”Human Rights and the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: A Dialogue on the Way Forward”. The event was presented by a partnership of the Saskatchewan Association for Community living, The Canadian Association for Community living and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

Joann Simon, the Coordinator of Student Services with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools described how their district promotes inclusion through providing a focus on literacydevelopment for all children. Also participating was Darren McKee, the Assistant Deputy Minister with the Education Department. Mr. McKee spoke as an educational leader but also as a parent. He emphasized the need for collaboration and teamwork between parents and education staff.

Our Network of Resource People

Click here for details.

The “Passport Mentoring Initiative” is an “in-school” opportunity to expose students, who have a developmental disability to post school experiences and options. Community Living Ontario has seen great success with this initiative and it is our hope that a similar program in this province will benefit youth with developmental disabilities. The accompanying brochure provides further details of the Passport Mentoring initiative.
In efforts to move this initiative forward in this province we are hoping that interested parties would come together after the information session to form a working group to discuss next steps in bring this program to fruition.
Please RSVP by September 24th, 2007 by calling the Newfoundland and Labrador Association for Community Living office at 709-722-0790, toll free 1-800-701-8511 or by e-mail donnawalbourne@nf.aibn.com. If you should have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Community Inclusion Coordinator, Donna Walbourne, at the NLACL office.

Inclusion Policy Research Group Meets
The Inclusive Education Knowledge Mobilization Initiative (IE-KMI)

A small group of Canadian scholars met in Charlottetown, PEI in June 2006. The group met under the leadership of Vianne Timmons, Vice President of Academic Support at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Timmons welcomed colleagues from other parts of Canada to discuss the development of a framework for policy development in inclusive education.

The group is shown above and are from left-to right: Gordon L. Porter, Director of Inclusive Education Initiatives, CACL; Robert Doré, Professor of Education, Université du Québec à Montréal; Judy Lupart, Canada Research Chair in Special Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton; Roger Slee, Dean of Education, McGill University, Montreal; Vianne Timmons, UPEI; Angela Aucoin, Professor at University of Moncton; Cameron Crawford, Senior Researcher, CACL/The Roeher Institute, Toronto; Anne Jordan, Professor, OISE, University of Toronto; Zana Lutfiyya, Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Programs)/Professor of Education, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

Knowledge Impact in Society Proposal: The Inclusive Education Knowledge Mobilization Initiative (IE-KMI)

Central hypotheses, research questions, specific objectives.
Inclusive education is implemented differently from one province and territory to another, with considerable consequences for the health and education of children and youth with disabilities. There is no national data base or information-transfer process for disseminating the results of research and evidence-informed practice. The primary goal of the Inclusive Education–Knowledge Mobilization Initiative (IE-KMI) is to strengthen the joint capacity of disability community organizations, teacher and principal/administrator associations, policy makers, and academics to identify and share both local and national knowledge, collaborate in applied research, and translate knowledge into policy/practice development in the context of inclusive education.

The five main objectives to meeting this goal are to:

1. Search and consolidate the Canadian based literature on evidence-based inclusive education research and practices, and critically evaluate the research findings applicable to the health and education of students with disabilities from the perspectives of research quality, and applicability to policy and practice development for inclusive education.
2. Identify what knowledge is currently transmitted and translated into use and how this translation occurs, by policy makers, teacher educators and classroom teachers.
3. Using the results of objectives one and two, develop and pilot an effective transfer mechanism to translate findings from highly-rated research into useful guides for practice, and to monitor how teachers implement them in a representative sample of classrooms in one province.
4. Begin the process of establishing a nationally recognized institutional capacity similar to the United States National Centre for the Disability Research.
5. Build needed linkages with international knowledge brokering initiatives in the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere in order to provide a broader context for policy and practice in Canada, and reciprocally to enable Canadian research and knowledge development in inclusive education to be utilized more effectively in global efforts to advance inclusive education.

Awesome indeed in their achievements. These five kids with severe physical and mental disabilities have become part of the life of their schools while preparing for lives beyond the classroom.   » View the Full Story