It is widely recognized that schools that enjoy community and family involvement have more positive outcomes with students than do schools without the community involvement (Friend and Cook, 2013). Most schools have intentions to reach out to the community and some do to a degree, but it is rare to find a campus with an organized and long-range plan for collaboration. It is often up to a single person or key group of colleagues and administrators to implement and keep such programs going.
At Pepper Drive School one teacher has been one such catalyst. This teacher has partnered with a neighboring senior living community. Once a week her students make the walk from our campus to the assisted living facility to bring gifts to its senior residents, read books with them or entertain them with skits and rehearsed poems or songs.
One can only hope that someone with her interpersonal and organizational skills (Gardner, 2015) will be empowered to make the same community connection and collaboration that builds support, encourages volunteering and teaching respect and tolerance in the future. The stakeholder in this example of intergenerational exchange are the elders and the young students who compare and contrast their experiences weekly. The social emotional rewards that the students and senior citizens enjoy include emotional awareness, empathy and positive relationship building skills.
How can you become a community builder on your campus? Find out what your student body and your colleagues experience and expertise are and go from there. Put out a digital survey to collect this information. Do you have a parent who works at a nursery? See about partnering with a local garden center to teach children planting skills and create a community garden. See what local university and colleges (Friend and Cook, 2013) want to get involved with student learning or whether or not they will give their time in exchange for credit (Friend and Cook, 2013). Perhaps the engineering chapter of a local college will want to encourage the tiny engineers in your classroom as they work on STEM projects. Implementing a cross-age reading buddies program (Elias, 2013) is an opportunity to collaborate within the learning community. Share your intended outcomes with guests. If a grandparent is going to come and talk about their pest control business, let them know that your students are studying insects and you would like them to learn about the body parts and habitats. Preload students with the knowledge they will need to understand a guest speaker or volunteer's expertise, remind them to be polite and always send a thank you note.
I am inspired by my colleague who, rain or shine (and sometimes it takes renting a bus to travel the one mile in 100 plus degree heat) shuffles her students to a nearby assisted living home each week. Sometimes it is uncomfortable for her students when their senior buddy will not respond to them, has dementia and doesn’t seem to make sense or seemingly has little interest. However, I am told that the year long practice usually results in a bond between the young and the old and and a narrowing of a generation gap that leaves the elder with a sense of purpose and renewed pride and knowledge and the student with the ability to have empathy and compassion and an ability to relate to someone else. A project-based approach to learning connects students' learning to the world beyond the classroom (Kolk, 2017).
Here are some resources I found for community building and for student's withe exceptionalities:
www.theautismgroup.com
The Autism Group, Inc. provides behavioral and academic home programs, parent education, assessments and community-based instruction for students on the Autism spectrum. The Autism Group approach believes that every child in unique and has the potential for significant growth. While honoring the family’s values and priorities, they use a holistic approach to build trust, support relationships and collaborate between disciplines and families. This group is important because the provide a non-traditional approach to diagnosing and treating Autism Spectrum Disorder.
www.thereadingroom.net
Dr. Lynn Thrope, Ph.D offers private reading and writing instruction, diagnosis of learning problems, educational consultant, tutoring and test prep for learners from age four to adults. The Reading Room notably offers IEP help. Additionally, clients may be comprehensively tested and evaluated for reading/language/writing abilities. This services is key because it can help parents navigate the IEP process, as well as assess for and diagnose learning disabilities, which are often not recognized elsewhere.
www.specialolympics.org
Just about everyone loves to watch and participate in sports and children with exceptionalities should not be excluded. The Special Olympics offers real sports, community building, youth activism, healthy lifestyles, leadership and research. Through the power of sports, individuals with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success.
www.care.com
CARE is a membership-requires online resource. CARE provides parents a place to find nannies, babysitter, behavioural management specialist and other special needs caregivers. All caregivers have passed background checks. This service is vital for families who do not have resources or family support readily available to them.
www.efrconline.org
The Exceptional Family Resource Center (EFRC) is a community-based collaborative agency. EFRC is staffed by parents and professionals who serve families of individuals with special needs. EFRC serves families by providing a broad range of services from information, education to assessment.
References
Elias, M. (May, 2013). Special education: creating more inclusion at your school. Edutopia. Retreived from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/more-inclusion-students-special-education-your-school-maurice-elias
Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2013). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Gardner, D. (January 31, 2005). "Ten Lessons in Collaboration". OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 10 No.1, Manuscript 1, Retrieved from Gardner, D. (January 31, 2005). "Ten Lessons in Collaboration". OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 10 No.1, Manuscript 1.
Kolk, M. (December, 2016). Implementing PBL will make it matter. The creative educator. Retreived from http://www.thecreativeeducator.com/2015/articles/implementing-PBL-with-Make-It-Matter
At Pepper Drive School one teacher has been one such catalyst. This teacher has partnered with a neighboring senior living community. Once a week her students make the walk from our campus to the assisted living facility to bring gifts to its senior residents, read books with them or entertain them with skits and rehearsed poems or songs.
One can only hope that someone with her interpersonal and organizational skills (Gardner, 2015) will be empowered to make the same community connection and collaboration that builds support, encourages volunteering and teaching respect and tolerance in the future. The stakeholder in this example of intergenerational exchange are the elders and the young students who compare and contrast their experiences weekly. The social emotional rewards that the students and senior citizens enjoy include emotional awareness, empathy and positive relationship building skills.
How can you become a community builder on your campus? Find out what your student body and your colleagues experience and expertise are and go from there. Put out a digital survey to collect this information. Do you have a parent who works at a nursery? See about partnering with a local garden center to teach children planting skills and create a community garden. See what local university and colleges (Friend and Cook, 2013) want to get involved with student learning or whether or not they will give their time in exchange for credit (Friend and Cook, 2013). Perhaps the engineering chapter of a local college will want to encourage the tiny engineers in your classroom as they work on STEM projects. Implementing a cross-age reading buddies program (Elias, 2013) is an opportunity to collaborate within the learning community. Share your intended outcomes with guests. If a grandparent is going to come and talk about their pest control business, let them know that your students are studying insects and you would like them to learn about the body parts and habitats. Preload students with the knowledge they will need to understand a guest speaker or volunteer's expertise, remind them to be polite and always send a thank you note.
I am inspired by my colleague who, rain or shine (and sometimes it takes renting a bus to travel the one mile in 100 plus degree heat) shuffles her students to a nearby assisted living home each week. Sometimes it is uncomfortable for her students when their senior buddy will not respond to them, has dementia and doesn’t seem to make sense or seemingly has little interest. However, I am told that the year long practice usually results in a bond between the young and the old and and a narrowing of a generation gap that leaves the elder with a sense of purpose and renewed pride and knowledge and the student with the ability to have empathy and compassion and an ability to relate to someone else. A project-based approach to learning connects students' learning to the world beyond the classroom (Kolk, 2017).
Here are some resources I found for community building and for student's withe exceptionalities:
www.theautismgroup.com
The Autism Group, Inc. provides behavioral and academic home programs, parent education, assessments and community-based instruction for students on the Autism spectrum. The Autism Group approach believes that every child in unique and has the potential for significant growth. While honoring the family’s values and priorities, they use a holistic approach to build trust, support relationships and collaborate between disciplines and families. This group is important because the provide a non-traditional approach to diagnosing and treating Autism Spectrum Disorder.
www.thereadingroom.net
Dr. Lynn Thrope, Ph.D offers private reading and writing instruction, diagnosis of learning problems, educational consultant, tutoring and test prep for learners from age four to adults. The Reading Room notably offers IEP help. Additionally, clients may be comprehensively tested and evaluated for reading/language/writing abilities. This services is key because it can help parents navigate the IEP process, as well as assess for and diagnose learning disabilities, which are often not recognized elsewhere.
www.specialolympics.org
Just about everyone loves to watch and participate in sports and children with exceptionalities should not be excluded. The Special Olympics offers real sports, community building, youth activism, healthy lifestyles, leadership and research. Through the power of sports, individuals with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success.
www.care.com
CARE is a membership-requires online resource. CARE provides parents a place to find nannies, babysitter, behavioural management specialist and other special needs caregivers. All caregivers have passed background checks. This service is vital for families who do not have resources or family support readily available to them.
www.efrconline.org
The Exceptional Family Resource Center (EFRC) is a community-based collaborative agency. EFRC is staffed by parents and professionals who serve families of individuals with special needs. EFRC serves families by providing a broad range of services from information, education to assessment.
References
Elias, M. (May, 2013). Special education: creating more inclusion at your school. Edutopia. Retreived from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/more-inclusion-students-special-education-your-school-maurice-elias
Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2013). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Gardner, D. (January 31, 2005). "Ten Lessons in Collaboration". OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 10 No.1, Manuscript 1, Retrieved from Gardner, D. (January 31, 2005). "Ten Lessons in Collaboration". OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 10 No.1, Manuscript 1.
Kolk, M. (December, 2016). Implementing PBL will make it matter. The creative educator. Retreived from http://www.thecreativeeducator.com/2015/articles/implementing-PBL-with-Make-It-Matter