Creating a place where all students’ daily lives are intertwined
‘The goal is for staff to know that anything that is good for kids – all kids – is good with me.’ – Stephen Seelye, Pellston Superintendent
PELLSTON – The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in schools have been widely reported, but in one local district, it opened up the opportunity to positively change structures to support students with disabilities. At Pellston Elementary School, district leaders took the initiative to integrate students with disabilities in Char-Em ISD classrooms into the overall school environment to experience typical school-day activities with their same-age peers without disabilities.
At a recent “Learning Round” held at the school to share Pellston’s inclusivity success with other local district leaders, a story about one student in particular showed how meaningful these efforts have become. During his years at the school, the student had limited access to same-age peers. Due to the impact of a cognitive impairment, this student spent most of his school days in one of two CEISD classrooms in the building, whereas general education students rotate through the day to art, music, gym and other classes. He hadn’t yet had the opportunity to participate in activities with nondisabled peers.
This set-up wasn’t intentional, but over the years it became how things operated in this district that houses two Char-Em ISD classrooms located at the end of a long hallway on the building’s north end, separated from the rest of the general education students and classrooms.
“I’ve used the analogy of Disney World. The rest of the building is Disney World, and the students with disabilities were always just outside the gate, looking in but not able to ride the rides,” said Seelye. “We knew we wanted to change the entire atmosphere to be inclusive of every single student who attends our schools.”
In 2021, after the bulk of the COVID closures and disruptions had passed, some aspects of school operations were reconfigured, and at the top of that list was the concept of inclusivity that had been on the minds of the two Pellston administrators. They began conversations with Char-Em ISD leaders and their own staff about integrating students from the two Char-Em classrooms into the overall school activities and classes, including “specials” like music, art and phys ed.
They started small so as to not overwhelm the students, staff members, and general education pupils with the transition, ensuring supports were in place for teachers who were welcoming the students with disabilities, both cognitive and behavioral, into their classroom settings.
Now, the student described above and his peers with disabilities take part in gym and other specials with general education students.
The impact has been exactly what school leaders were hoping to achieve, albeit a little more quickly than they anticipated.
“What I wasn’t expecting to see so quickly is how all of our students embraced each of these students as we started to bring them into the daily fold of elementary school. They can handle it, and they showed us that. We started with breakfast and lunch with peers, then gave students desks in gen ed classrooms, and we watched the relationships form,” Seelye told the group of regional educators gathered for the Learning Round.
Teacher Shari Saddison described how her 2nd graders rose to the occasion of welcoming students with disabilities, watching out for them, and including them in activities, such as making sure one student with physical disabilities is always included in gym activities.
“They are naturally curious and once they learn about the students, that’s all they need to really take inclusivity to the next level and treat the students like all of their other friends,” said Saddison. “It has been a remarkable experience for all of us.”
‘We’re all Pellston Hornets’
Char-Em ISD operates 16 special education classrooms in five local districts that serve students with disabilities. Placements of students means that they might be in a classroom that isn’t in their “home district.” For example, a student who lives in Alanson might be placed in a Pellston Char-Em ISD classroom. Seelye and VanAntwerp were determined to change the perception that these students were anything other than “Pellston Hornets.”
A typical day now at Pellston Elementary School for students in Char-Em ISD special education classrooms might look like this: The students start in their CEISD assigned room, either for cognitively or emotionally impaired pupils in grades K-6. Some students might enjoy breakfast with their general ed counterparts in a typical classroom setting. During any given day, the students with disabilities can be found in music, art, gym, or spending time in the resource room with specialized instruction for needs such as writing or communication. Throughout the day they may spend a period of time in a general education classroom and in their CEISD room.
“To make this level of inclusivity possible, it requires a lot of communication among teachers and service providers, like speech therapists, and administration,” said Bigelow (pictured). “There might be times when things don’t go according to plan, and times when changes need to happen fairly quickly. Flexibility is extremely important.”
The goal of encouraging inclusion at the high level expected at Pellston Elementary is to grow each child’s strengths and ability to succeed with their same-aged general education peers, ideally being able to move them from a Char-Em ISD classroom back to the general education setting. While that is not always possible, it does happen – and with more frequency now in Pellston.
“Our goal is always to find what works best for each student and to keep them with their peers whenever possible,” said Lauren Ringle, Director of Special Education for Char-Em ISD. “Children learn from other children – they learn how to play with others, how to listen, how to communicate appropriately, and most importantly, they gain confidence in themselves.”
CEISD teacher Ashley Brainerd, whose classroom supports students with emotional impairments, said that goal has become a reality.
“My students feel more included and love that we are not in only our classroom all day long,” said Brainerd. “They have grown so much in all capacities, emotionally and academically. They have friends all over the school, and not just in our room. And with these opportunities, we have been able to get more students back to their local schools sooner.”
Programs like Peer to Peer are a tremendous asset in teaching acceptance and inclusivity to all students. Peer to Peer is a program where students with and without disabilities engage in shared activities at school and learn in a reciprocal manner.
“Peer to Peer has been a way for all students to see that kids learn differently and have different experiences at school. It provides a framework for general education students to support students with disabilities by simply participating in activities together. The goal is not for the general education student to help students with disabilities complete tasks or projects – it is to do them together, as peers,” said Warner.
Teacher Ali Jarema echoed those sentiments.
“It’s important for my students to grow with their peers, not just alongside them,” said Jarema, Char-Em ISD teacher for students with cognitive impairments. “I’m inspired by these opportunities provided this school year and hopeful for those in the future that will continue to open more doors for my students. The growth seen in my students over the course of this school year has been amazing and the growth I have seen in the general education students has been just as amazing.”
Seelye said encouraging a mindset shift among staff has been key to their inclusivity success.
“We gave staff the encouragement and ‘permission’ that every interaction they want students to have is OK. Can this student ride the bus with this class for a field trip? Yes, and they don’t need to ask me. Can this student go to music class with this group of students? Yes. Can this child be in the school play? Yes. The goal is for staff to know that anything that is good for kids – all kids – is good with me,” Seelye said.
