Inclusive Summer Learning

As summer break approaches, many of us start daydreaming about slower mornings, sunshine—and finally digging into that reading or listening list. Below is a list of books and podcasts we at the Haring Center, along with our demonstration site partners, are exploring this summer. Join us as we continue learning how to build more inclusive, equitable schools for all.

Summer Learning (1)Download

Notice of Public Comment Period for Annual State Application of Federal Year 2024 of the IDEA Federal Grant

Washington state’s annual application for federal IDEA funds for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024 has been posted and will be available for public review for 60 days, with a comment period of 30 days, prior to final submission to the US Department of Education (DOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) by May 31, 2024. Check out this overview video about the application process from Dr. Tania May, OSPI Assistant Superintendent of Special Education.

Review the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) form for FFY 2024

Two virtual/online Public Comment Hearings have been scheduled:

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, from 1–2 pm | Zoom link
Wednesday, April 17, 2024, from 9–10 am | Zoom link

All members of the public are invited to attend the Public Comment Hearings and provide verbal or written comment on the annual application for IDEA funds and the proposed budget. The Public Comment Hearings are posted to the OSPI Rulemaking and Public Comment website. Comments may also be submitted in writing to speced@k12.wa.us no later than May 8, 2024.

Note that each scheduled meeting has a separate Zoom link. If participants need accommodations beyond closed captioning, please contact the OSPI Special Education division at speced@k12.wa.us or by calling 360-725-0725.

Opportunity for free professional development on tier 3 behavior supports for school staff

Is your school looking for a system to help teams implement individualized behavior supports? Is your school interested in free access to an app that will help them implement behavioral supports in schools? A team of University of Washington Haring Center researchers is looking for schools interested in joining a research project to test the effectiveness of an online app. The app helps teachers and others collaborate to develop and implement positive behavior supports in classrooms. Possible benefits of joining the study include free training and ongoing support related to individualized behavior interventions, free access to a collaboration app designed by educators and researchers, and improvements to students’ academic and behavioral outcomes! Click here to download the flyer or email ibesttstudy@uw.edu to learn more.

WAEYC Presentation

Reflecting on Compliance and Rethinking Student Behavior to Promote Inclusive Environments was a professional development opportunity facilitated by Cassie, UW inclusion specialist, at the 47^th annual Washington Association for the Education of Young Children (WAEYC) conference. This session supported participants in their reflection of why educators and administrators ask for student compliance and to consider student behavior a form of communication rather than an act of defiance. Compliance is required for safety but we can also look at what is being asked with a discriminative lens to decide if and when it is truly necessary. Through this reflective inquiry we all will be able to maximize each student’s potential and cultivate an inclusive environment for all students to become expert learners. All educators can play a role in dismantling the structures in place that support segregation and instead can promote acceptance for all. For more information or to have a discussion feel free to reach out to Cassie at caborges@uw.edu

RRIE (Restraint Reduction and Isolation elimination) Demo Sites Application

In collaboration with the Haring Center for Inclusive Education at the University of Washington, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is partnering with school districts across the state to create demonstration sites highlighting best practices in reducing the use of restraint and eliminating the use of isolation. These schools will participate in transformational professional development, and in turn provide learning experiences that inspires continuous improvement, with the goal of creating learning communities to be used as sites for research, professional development, and model demonstration sites for best practices in positive behavior support. These schools will serve as exemplars that show the benefits of reducing restraint and eliminating isolation on student outcomes. Districts/programs who apply are committed to:

Collaborate with OSPI and partners to implement practices and schoolwide support systems with the goal of eliminating isolation and reducing restraint use. The schoolwide systems must include trauma-informed positive behavior and intervention supports, de-escalation, and problem-solving skills.

Continuously partner with OSPI and external partners to highlight the systems and processes that have contributed to the elimination of student isolation and reduction of restraint use in the school/district.
Engage in professional learning activities to support the building of school-level and district-level systems that eliminate student isolation, track and reduce restraint use, and build schoolwide systems to support students in distress and prevent crisis escalation cycles that may result in restraint or isolation.
Provide student level data, program information, project feedback and reflections to OSPI as needed.

Apply here.

UPDATED! Principles and Practices to Build and Sustain Inclusive Schools Tool

At the onset of the IPP Project, there were many inquiries into specifying what was meant when the term “inclusionary practices” was referenced. This document was created in response to define inclusionary practices more clearly. In conjunction with our partnership with demonstration sites, this document is a result of what we have learned, and continue to learn, regarding inclusionary practices to build and sustain inclusive schools, districts and communities.

The Principles and Practices tool adopts a critically inclusive lens which guides teams to self-assess inclusionary principles and practices occurring in their contexts. This tool supports ongoing reflection and action planning throughout continuous cycles of analyzing, disrupting, and restructuring social processes that produce inequity (Siuty, 2019) . The following principles and practices are pivotal to supporting schools and districts to build and sustain inclusive schools. The tool is framed around an appreciative inquiry lens to take a strength-based approach and celebrate practices that are in place.

Please check out other featured inclusionary resources.

Monroe High School Model of Inclusion

Understanding that ALL students learn best when they are challenged, provided with support, and feel that they belong in their school, Monroe High School has spent years working toward phasing out the “pull-out” model where students who need support, including multilingual learners, are pulled out of general education classrooms for support and separated from their peers.

To expand access for all students, MHS has developed — with plenty of trial and error — a way to maximize the teaching staff, be creative with scheduling and assign two teachers to many classrooms, a practice known as co-teaching. In an Algebra class, for example, there’s a subject matter expert — the math teacher — and then a second teacher who focuses on providing support. This means targeted services, support and accommodations are provided to students who need them within general education classrooms with their peers.

This hasn’t come easy. This shift has required a tremendous amount of work by staff – learning new ways to teach classrooms full of very diverse learners, how to provide accommodations within the classroom, and how to co-plan and co-teach with special education teachers.

Watch and read the King 5 story here.

Early Learning Demo Sites Open for Visits!

Interested in seeing what inclusionary practices look like in Early Childhood Education Settings? If so, the Preschool and Early Learning Center IPTN Demo Sites are offering transformational professional development in the form of in person site visits in the 2023-2024 school year. Submit a visit request form found on the Schedule a Visit page on the Demo Sites website and an inclusion specialist will reach out to talk more about what this could look like for your team. Our early learning Demo Sites highlight the following inclusive practices: inclusive mission and vision, MTSS, the Pyramid Model, differentiated instruction, culturally responsive pedagogy, braided funding, family and community partnerships, flexible service delivery, coordination and collaboration, and how to support CTE students in a preschool setting. Visit the Demo Sites preschool web page to learn more about Edwin Pratt Early Learning Center in Shoreline, Kodiak Cubs Preschool in Leavenworth, and Robert Lince Early Learning Center in Selah. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Introducing the Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network (IPTN)

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and partners at WestEd are excited to announce the kickoff of the statewide Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network (IPTN). As Washington state educators and professional organizations continue to work together and consider new ways to measure impact, leverage data, and effectively use that information for implementation, the IPTN aims to develop inclusive leadership across all levels of the system within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework.

Over the past four years, the Inclusionary Practices Professional Development Project (IPP) has provided valuable information to support the development of a technical assistance network that accounts for the interdependence required to create a robust educational system that is equitable and inclusive. The IPP showed that building a network that utilizes diverse perspectives is crucial for creating sustainable and systemic inclusive change in education.

The IPTN will model the framework of providing tiered supports, including a process where IPTN providers experience tiered TA. This experience is intended to further the work of inclusion and help equip teams to provide tiered supports and/or organize supports and services for a full scale MTSS technical development system across local education agencies (LEAs) in Washington.

Family Engagement Case Study

The IPP Demonstration Sites continue to partner with others and showcase their inclusionary practices. Take a look at the IPP Family Engagement Collaborative Inclusive Education and Family Engagement report. This report describes how two demo sites, Chase Middle School and Kodiak Cubs Preschool, have implemented inclusive education and family engagement. The case studies highlighted in the report are intended to document the knowledge and lived experiences of parents, educators, students, and technical assistance providers related to partnering with families to provide meaningful, inclusive education for students. Both demo sites are committed to establishing a culture of inclusive education in their settings and are exemplary in their work but use different strategies to ensure implementation is reflective of their local context, strengths, and needs.