With the craziness of the holidays, many may not even realize that it’s also inclusive schools week! But it’s a week not to be overlooked. Established in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week celebrates the progress schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to a diverse student population. The week is also an opportunity for educators, students, and parents to talk about what else needs to be done to ensure schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.
Inclusive Schools in the DC Area
“I was very nervous to leave her with anyone.”
It’s common for parents to feel anxious about sending their child to preschool or daycare for the first time, but for Lydia and Robbie Shorr, there was an extra layer of uncertainty when it came to their daughter Tehila.
“She was born early. She was born at 32 weeks…We were in the NICU for a really long time…and then finally she got a G tube so that she could go home.”
Tehila was born premature and since bottle feeding her proved unsuccessful, a gastrostomy tube (G tube) was recommended. A G tube is a surgically placed device that gives direct access to the stomach for supplemental feeding and hydration. “Tube time”, as it is known in the Shorr family, happened in the home for the first nine months, but then her parents had to return to work.
“So that posed the problem of where do we go for childcare? How do we show a childcare [provider] how to do that?” Lydia was nervous but then found out about a fully inclusive childcare center in Silver Spring, Maryland known as KFICCC (Karasik Family, Infant & Child Care Center). “When I was looking around…there was nothing like this.”
At KFICCC, the classrooms include children both with and without disabilities and those with medical needs. When KFICCC opened, it was the first of its kind in Maryland. KFICCC is part of The Arc Montgomery County and the hope is that more childcare centers like KFICCC will open throughout the area and even throughout the country. Right now there are only a few comparable programs anywhere in the U.S.
“It’s a really seamless inclusion model,” says Lydia.
The Proof is in the Research
Research shows early childhood inclusion can benefit children with and without disabilities. As published on the site for the Administration for Children and Families, studies have shown children with disabilities in inclusive settings experienced greater cognitive gains and communication development than children with disabilities who were in separate settings. Greater academic outcomes have also been reported for typically-developing children in inclusive settings, and it also helps increase understanding and acceptance of those with higher support needs.
“I don’t know where else you would want your kid to go, honestly,” Robbie says. KFICCC has nurses on staff. “We got in and got these great nursing services so she could do her G tube at school, and we didn’t have to worry about teaching anybody or whether it would be done right,” says Lydia.
It was done right. “I don’t think we would have been able to get her to where she’s at in nearly as little time without all of the cooperation and help from the classroom.” After a little more than a year at KFICCC, Tehila made gains and was able to stop tube feeding. “Everyone really worked with us and that encourages development.”
Continuing Education
Tehila will continue learning and growing alongside her classmates both with and without disabilities. Robbie describes this period as a “very fun time for us to see her take on the world.”
