Two St. Albert schools have won national honours for their efforts to integrate special needs children into the classroom.
Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools board announced Monday that J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary and Richard S. Fowler Junior High had won National Inclusive Education Awards from the Alberta Association for Community Living. The awards recognize people, schools and districts that demonstrate excellence in inclusive education. Five were given out in Alberta this year.
While special needs children are accepted in most classrooms, said association spokesperson Wendy McDonald, there are still some schools that segregate them from the rest of the students.
Research shows that integrating special needs kids into the classroom helps everyone, McDonald said, as it teaches students empathy and leadership skills. "They have a better chance of a real life in the community."
A place for everyone
Fowler has about 36 special needs kids, said Shawna Gallagher, the school's learning support facilitator, ranging in ability from those who struggle to read to those with Down syndrome.
These students used to be taught separately from others, said Fowler, who has taught at the school since 1998. Special needs students would learn basic life skills, like how to take a bus, but would be cut off from the rest of their peers.
"Peers are a huge role model for them," she said, especially when it came to proper behaviour, and not having the chance to interact with them robbed these students of valuable social lessons.
The trend nowadays is to teach children with physical or mental disabilities alongside the rest of the students, Gallagher said. Teachers then create modified lessons for their special needs students: instead of learning about the circulatory system, for example, a student might focus on "what a heart does."
"They're not doing the regular Grade 7 or 8 science curriculum, but they're still in the classroom with their peers."
Fowler uses iPods and iPads to help special needs kids stay in regular classrooms, said vice-principal Duane Hayes. The devices can read what students write back to them, help them prepare presentations and replay lessons so they can learn at home.
"We want them to be in the classroom with the rest of the students," Hayes said. "The rest of the students can learn as much from them as they can learn themselves."
The parents who nominated Fowler for this award praised the school for its culture of acceptance, McDonald said. "They talk about their son being treated with dignity and respect," she said, and being able to have the same choices and opportunities as anyone else.
A boy and his dog
J.J. Nearing was nominated by the parents of a nine-year-old boy named Miguel, McDonald said. Miguel, who joined the school last fall, has autism and many medical conditions and requires the help of a service dog.
Autistic students are some of the most challenging a teacher can face, said J.J. Nearing principal Jan Maslyk — they're non-verbal, which makes it tough to understand what they're thinking.
"A lot of times they won't do something because they don't understand what you want, or they're scared of something we don't know [about]."
Miguel had not been welcomed in a regular class at his previous school, McDonald said, and his parents had been disappointed by what he had learned in the special-needs class. "They really dreamed of having him included."
Maslyk said her school had no problem with accepting Miguel and his dog.
"He was thrilled to be in with a larger group," she said, and he amazed the kids as well.
The service dog is a great help, she continued, as it is able to reassure or pull Miguel along whenever he's scared.
"Instead of sitting down and being upset or crying, he just follows the dog."
Miguel now holds conversations with his fellows using a touch-screen computer, Maslyk said, plays in the playground with them, and joins them on field trips.
"He does so many things he was not able to do."
Miguel's parents are now filled with hope and optimism, McDonald said, reading from their nomination. "Knowing that Miguel is happy and fully accepted among his classmates and staff, as he is, is priceless to us," the parents said.
Both schools will get their award certificates April 13.
