Diversity & Inclusion
Inclusion for All
“M
y fourth-grade son has never attended a fall festival at his school.” The woman’s statement genuinely surprised me. When I asked her why he’d never gone to their fall festival, her frustration and pain were palpable, “Because,” she explained “there is nothing there he can do.” This mother and her son with special needs are not alone. Thousands of students across Georgia with special needs struggle every day to fit in and find ways to participate in their school communities with their peers. I began to see her point immediately. He couldn’t ride the rides. He couldn’t jump in the inflatable play structures. He couldn’t even play most of the simple games for the youngest kids to win prizes. “How completely demoralizing it would feel,” I realized, “to take my child to a school-sponsored event like that and have him be unable to participate in anything!” All too often, and for a variety of reason, well-intentioned or not, most of our schools’ special needs population is living their educational lives in a parallel universe of sorts; separate but not really equal. Among the unfortunate by-products of this shadowy existence is that these students don’t even receive consideration when it comes to planning activities at school. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not to suggest that these children are overlooked on purpose. It’s sort of the “out of sight, out of mind” principle; when those planning school events don’t see students with special needs, they just don’t even think about how to include them. The good news is that this is a relatively easy fix. And awareness is the key. As a PTA, we work for every child with one voice. It is our responsibility to understand the composition of our of our school communities in order to fulfill our mission. In the case of our students with special needs, reaching out to the special education teachers in your school is a great place to start. They can help your board appreciate the circumstances of their students and help you plan to accommodate them. And, in my experience, they are eager to help and appreciative of your interest. Another advantage to connecting with the special education faculty is the opportunity to reach out to the families of your students with special needs. Like all other families, they value their children’s education and want them to enjoy their experiences in school. Showing specific concern for their needs is sure to be appreciated. In addition, you may be able to recruit a parent or two from among them to serve as chair or chairs of a special needs committee on you board. Having a parent of a special needs child on your board is an excellent way to ensure you’re considering the needs of all students.
March 2012
And don’t forget, when we’re talking about inclusion, we really do mean “inclusion for all.” While this article clearly focuses on our students with special needs, don’t overlook these important groups: grandparents—sometimes raising their grandchildren and not always so in touch with modern parenting and education, single parents—so many demands on their time, but many of them still willing to help in non-traditional, outside-theschool ways, men—not just fathers, but uncles, grandfathers, even men volunteering from the community can really make an impression on students, particularly boys looking for a strong male role model. For more information about how to reach out to students with special needs and their families, please contact Elaine Sutton-Mbionwu, Georgia PTA Inclusion Sub-Committee Chair, at lesutton@law.syr.edu. You can also add your voice to the conversation about how the Inclusion Committee of the GA PTA can better serve those students with special needs and their families by completing the brief survey found at this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2011inclusion For information on diversity outreach, please contact Wendy Stewart, Georgia PTA Diversity Chair, at wendywstewart@gmail.com.
Twitter Town Hall on Bullying: A Wealth of Resources on Bullying On March 20th, Georgia PTA participated in the first-ever Bullying Prevention Twitter Live Chat. Go to #vetoviolence on Twitter to review the tweets and learn from experts about the importance of bullying prevention, the value of programs, policies, and practices based upon the best available evidence, and resources available to assist parents and schools in their prevention and intervention efforts.
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