An elementary teacher from Morinville has been recognized for her work with students with higher educational needs.
Meghan Loney received the National Inclusive Education Award presented jointly by the Alberta Association for Community Living and the Canadian Association for Community Living.
The award, which is granted based on nominations, recognizes schools and school districts “for their efforts in ensuring every child is welcomed and included.”
“I am a strong believer in inclusive education and that every child can be a member of the classroom community,” said Loney, who teaches a combined Grades 1 and 2 class at Beacon Heights School in Edmonton.
“After working with children who have a variety of needs, I realized how much children learn from each other when they are playing and learning.”
Pupils in Loney’s classroom have a diverse range of educational needs, including some that are learning English as a second language, others requiring additional teacher support because of behavioural needs, and students who have severe physical needs and global developmental delays.
Loney makes mention of one student in particular, Carson Masse, who lives with a global developmental delay and severe seizure disorder as a result of a chromosomal deletion.
“Seeing my students interact and socialize with students like Carson is amazing, they learn acceptance, friendship, responsibility, and how everyone is a unique individual who brings their own talents and gifts to a community,” said the Morinville resident.
Loney explained she incorporates sign language as much as possible into the classroom – signing in stories, songs, poems and even during the national anthem every morning – in order to include students who have difficulty or are unable to communicate.
Another tool of inclusion Loney uses is matching up Grade 2 student Carson with a classmate everyday as a learning partner. Together the pair can listen to books, play literacy and numeracy games and communicate using different programs on his iPad.
“I’m willing to try various teaching strategies such as embracing technology, or adapting curricular resources to allow students to be successful,” added Loney.
“The most important technique is being creative; thinking about how each child can participate in the classroom, as a teacher being willing and not afraid to try different ideas, and understanding that some teaching strategies might not look the same for every child.”
She credits the support and daily collaboration with parents, colleagues and educational assistants for being able to offer different inclusion tools in the classroom.
