What do you do when you're faced with inclusion?

NEA Today, Sep 1994 by Merina, Anita

Inclusion. To many, it's a word that conjures up images of disrupted, overcrowded classrooms, children--regular and special ed--whose needs aren't met, and overburdened, unprepared, unassisted school staff.

It also evokes fear--an emotion that prompts many communities to keep inclusion at bay.

"When improperly carried out, inclusion efforts can and sometimes do lead to enormous frustration, pain, and anger on the part of everyone involved," says NEA Vice-President Robert Chase, who chair the Association's special advisory committee on inclusion.

Last spring, the committee, composed of special ed and regular education teachers and support staff, established NEA's policy and guidelines for appropriate inclusion (see box on page 17).

"While poorly implemented inclusion must end, we should not lose sight of the benefits of well-planned inclusion," says Chase. "Many schools are experiencing great success with inclusion policies because their efforts are carefully designed and supported."

One such place is Westerly, Rhode Island, a small coastal resort town with four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Not so long ago, fears about inclusion were commonplace for the town's 22,000 residents.

Today, Westerly boasts a program that seems to have won the favor of teachers and support staff, parents, and administrators. It's not perfect, but it's a far cry from the district's disjointed efforts of years past.

How did Westerly do it? With careful planning, time, money, communication, and commitment--all made easier by a strong local Association.

"We built a support system that cushioned our inclusion efforts," says Maureen Logan, a teacher and leader of the effort. "Without it, we wouldn't have taken the risk."

Paula Agins, a Westerly parent whose daughter Sarah was one of the first special needs children in Westerly's inclusion program, put it more simply. "We faced our fears and found the way past them," says Agins.

Elements critical to Westerly's success include:

* Readiness. Ten years ago, Westerly was the last place you'd expect to find inclusion. Special ed parents were critical of the district's services for their children, the district itself had been cited for numerous violations of special education codes, and teachers at some of the town's schools had expressed a "not in my classroom" attitude.

But in 1988, the Westerly school district committed itself to district-wide restructuring and shared decisionmaking as an NEA Learning Lab.

For two years, Westerly's educators "spent a great deal of time and effort building a strong school-community partnership based on shared decisionmaking," recalls Logan, Westerly's Learning Lab coordinator. By 1990, Logan says, "we were ready to take on inclusion."

* Long-range plan, little steps. "Inclusion of all special needs students may have been our goal, but we didn't want to rush it," Logan says. "So we started small."

In Westerly, that meant asking for volunteers. "We began one classroom at a time, with teachers willing to work together," explains Logan.

"All along the way, we made sure that training, feedback, and additional services were available to both the special ed and regular ed teacher until they felt comfortable working together."

At State Street School, it meant beginning one student at a time, says Mary Lord, the school's special education teacher. "Three years ago, we moved Sarah Agins, who is classified as having severe and profound disabilities, from a self-contained classroom into a regular classroom.

"In the beginning, we went to a kindergarten teacher and asked if Sarah could be included. The teacher said, 'Okay, but only for story time.' After a while, that teacher called us back and said, 'How about one hour?'"

"That hour stretched into two hours and then kept stretching longer and longer. Pretty soon, the teacher said, 'We'd love Sarah to stay full-time.'"

* Ongoing staff development and training. Continuing inservice training--not only for teachers, but for administrators, instructional assistants, parents, and transportation personnel--was essential.

"The goal of the training was not only to provide information, but to dispel fear," explains seventh grade special ed teacher Melissa Denton who works at Babcock Middle School.

Westerly's inservice training provides information on the special needs population, discussion sessions to develop common ground, and site visits to other schools.

The district also holds workshops on crisis intervention, curriculum modifications, team building skills, and reality therapy.

* Programs tailored to student needs. Each of Westerly's six schools has its own unique inclusion programs.

At Babcock, Denton moves from class to class with her students but maintains a special ed room that her students may need occasionally.

At State Street Elementary, two instructional aides accompany children with severe and profound disabilities throughout the day.

At Westerly, placement options are built in, including flexible schedules, extended days on-or off-site, short-term hospitalization, and vocational training.