Remember the good 'ole days, before Friday, March 13th?

Your child was included with his peers in general education classrooms for academic learning, at lunch, for recess, had Art, Music, and PE together went to the library as a class. 

There may have been some bumps in the road, and even so, your child was a genuine member of his class, not just a visitor.  Then along came COVID-19 and schools unexpectedly closed.

It may have been weeks before you start getting any communication about what "school" would look like.  When your child did start getting worksheets and lists of websites to go to, the whole part of "inclusive education" was missing.

Inclusion during online learning was one of the hot topics that came up on our recent Q & A Facebook live show.  Did you see our show?

There are a few tips about keeping your child connected with his classmates in the Resource section below.

During the show, we also talked about homeschooling (not the COVID homeschooling model), having paraprofessionals coming to student homes, and how children who are nonverbal can be engaged in video calls.

Catch the replay here.  You can listen to the podcast version here.

Celebrations are important!  I know so many teachers and staff have done so much to stay connected with each of their students and families.  Educators are incredibly talented and creative people.

If you're looking for some ideas on how to say thank you to someone at your child's school, check out my Pinterest board. 

Make sure inclusion doesn't disappear when we face more online education this fall.

1. Contact your child's teachers and school therapists and let them know you are interested in your child being included in online activities.  Share some ideas you have, such as a small group of your child with friends for a "lunch bunch" where they can have lunch and share news. 

2. Make sure your child's general education teacher has your child's name and contact information, so when emails are sent out about online class meetings, lessons, and other online activities, your child is also invited.

3. Request your child's IEP be amended to reflect additional indirect service time between your child's special education teacher and general education teacher to collaborate on engaging online lessons for all students.

3. Whatever subjects your child participated in, in the general education classroom, request that those classes be taught online so your child can participate too.

4. Suggest the librarian or media specialist have an online storytime for each general education classroom.  It's not the same as a face-to-face time for your child with their friends, but it does give another opportunity for kids to be together.

5. Set up some virtual recess times with some of your child's classmates. They can share some favorite games they like to play, play a favorite song to each other, have an afternoon snack together, etc.

What are some other ideas you can think of for creating more inclusive online opportunities?  Go ahead and post them on my Visions and Voices Together Facebook page.  Thanks!

CAUTION: If your child's school is going to use a cohort model where a small group of students stays together during the school day and teachers rotate in and out of the group, make sure your child is in a group with students from the general education classroom.

The TIES Center released a recent short article, Building Engagement with Distance Learning

If your head is spinning with questions, sign up for a Free Phone Consultation with me!  I'd love to talk with you. I have some blocks of time, and you can schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation. We can talk about our concerns and generate some positive next steps you can take.  Sign up here.

Thurs. July 9th, 2020: National Federal Office of Civil Rights campaign
Did your child's school provide very few services and supports that are written in their IEP during distance learning? 

Are you interested in learning more about Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints? 

Would you like to get help filing an OCR complaint because of the lack of services during school closure?

Join our guest, advocate Marcie Lipsitt, an expert on using OCR complaints to resolve disability discrimination this Thursday to hear about the National Federal Office of Civil Rights campaign!

If you know you'd like to file an OCR complaint about the lack of IEP services during school closure, click here.  Marcie will be helping parents on a first-come-first-served basis, just for a limited time.

Join us at Noon Mtn. Time, 2 pm ET, 1 pm CT, 11 am PT on this Facebook page. Visions and Voices Together

 

Take care,