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All Students Learning: Making It Happen In Your SchoolCommitment to Inclusion at McGhee
Location McGhee Elementary School Contact Mike Grubbs, Principal Description Several years ago the Lewiston School District looked at compliance with "least restrictive environment" legislation which stemmed from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This was done in a effort to ensure that the district was serving kids in the environment best suited to meet their individual needs. Teachers were asked to examine their practices
of serving students through pull-out programs. They were then asked to begin eliminating the use of such programs and to instead serve all students as much as possible in regular classrooms. From this evolved the district’s policy of inclusion.
At McGhee, all students, regardless of their mental or physical ability, spend their days in a mainstream classroom. They are removed only if they are in need of services that don’t lend them- selves to a regular classroom setting, such as physical therapy, speech therapy, diapering, or tube feeding.
Since the implementation of this policy, evidence of inclusion is everywhere. With a glimpse into any of McGhee’s 15 classrooms, a visitor may see a child with a severe disability, such as cerebral palsy, bound to a wheel chair yet participating to the fullest in all classroom events. The person would also see other students interacting naturally with the disabled student. What the person might not see is the way students feel about their disabled peers—to them disabilities aren’t really an issue. In most of their minds, a disabled kid is just another kid, who maybe has to tackle learning a little differently than most.
At McGhee, inclusion is a way of life. Whether students have severe physical disabilities, attention deficit disorder, are autistic, dyslexic, or suffer from any other host of learning limitations, they are incorporated fully into school. While this is no easy
feat for the educators at McGhee, they feel that it is the best
way to effectively provide all students with a quality education. Paula Grillo, the special education teacher who coordinates the inclusion program at McGhee, refers to the process as "organized chaos." However, she also asserts that with the support of teachers, administrators, and the school board, the program is rewarding for teachers and students.
Coordination between the principal, regular teachers, special education teachers, and special education assistants is key to
the success of inclusion at McGhee. The district has provided
its educators with numerous inservice activities that have helped them make the transition to inclusion.
The main goal behind the inclusion policy at McGhee is to treat all students with dignity. Inclusion helps students to understand that everyone must be respected and welcomed into the school and community. Inclusion continually presents students, teachers, and administrators at McGhee with many opportunities for reaching out and helping other people. The practice has helped to strengthen the entire school as kids have learned to help each other with real problems.
Keys to Success Observed Outcomes
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