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Expanding Ideas at Expanding Horizons

Erin Durkin McNamee, Consultant, SERC

SERC's eighth annual conference, Expanding Horizons: Educating Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms, truly expanded its scope this year. Themed "A Marketplace of Ideas," the conference, held in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), highlighted examples of best practices from across the state and was abuzz with participants, presenters and activity.

A New Approach

More than 400 general and special education teachers, administrators, support services personnel, students, family members, and care providers gathered on October 27, 2005 at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell for Expanding Horizons. The conference was truly a marketplace -- over forty sessions were offered concurrently in staggered time blocks from 10:00 a.m. until 2:20 p.m. Participants planned their own agendas according to their individual interests and needs, in contrast to previous years when they preregistered from a select number of options.

This year's sessions were largely led by Connecticut educators, with the exception of those presented by the keynote speaker. Given the sheer number of sessions offered, there was a great variety to choose from -- multimedia presentations, facilitated discussion groups, and simulated activities on a variety of topics and age levels. In addition, there were more presentations that were either led by students with disabilities or involved their participation. SERC Consultant and conference organizer Catherine Wagner explained, "In the past, when awareness of inclusive practices in Connecticut was just building, we highlighted examples of best practice in other states. However, we realized that great things are now happening in our own state, and that this was an opportunity to turn 'in-house' for expertise, and to show the range of exemplary programming and student progress across towns."

George Dowaliby, Chief of the Bureau of Special Education at the CSDE, echoed these sentiments in his opening remarks. "The growth in depth and scope of the conference reflects what's going on in the state," he noted, and complimented the audience on their efforts and the visible progress in Connecticut schools. However, Mr. Dowaliby also charged the group with the responsibility for continuing to make change and avoiding complacency: "Find out who's doing something well that you're struggling with. Make connections. Follow-up," he said, reminding participants that, "this is not a one-day activity."

Imagine the Possibilities

Kicking off the festivities was keynote speaker Karen Gaffney. A twenty-seven year old woman with Down syndrome, Ms. Gaffney travels the country to champion inclusive education, offering herself as an example of what can be achieved through high expectations, appropriate education, and hard work. Graduating with a regular high school diploma, she went on to earn her Associate degree, having participated fully in regular classroom settings since her early elementary years. Ms. Gaffney attributes her success to parents and educators who would not accept traditional views on the limitations of persons with disabilities.

Funny and confident, she spoke eloquently of her struggles both in the classroom and in making friends, as well as her persistence and remarkable success. Ms. Gaffney spoke of her recently completed dream -- swimming the English Channel as a member of a relay team -- as an example of what can be accomplished when minds open to new possibilities. Despite initial skepticism, "My team members saw past my differences and included me as a team member and a friend," Ms. Gaffney said. "We believed in each other…to go beyond the expected to achieve our goal." Thanking educators for their hard work, Ms. Gaffney asked the audience if they could "imagine the possibilities" of what persons with disabilities could achieve, adding, "I know I have."

A Variety of Topics

Of the forty concurrent sessions that followed the opening general session and keynote, the majority were led by school teams from Connecticut districts; there were also sessions led by CSDE and SERC consultants and educators from local colleges of education. Some of the sessions were geared toward parents, others were specific to school personnel, and many were appropriate for a diverse audience. The range of topics included job-specific professional development, curriculum development, inclusive practices, transition services, socialization, and school-family-community partnerships.

The number and variety of sessions offered, along with the opportunity to make their own selections, allowed participants to customize their agendas according to their own particular needs, or the specific needs of their schools. "It was a nice format," commented Susan Marie Lipka, a special education teacher from the Berlin Public Schools. "Everyone could get what they wanted out of the day."

Several sessions focused on the use of assistive technology (AT), both within schools --

such as Manchester High School's session on its AT Fair -- and districts. Judy Richard, Director of Pupil Services, Coventry Public Schools, described the functions of Coventry's dedicated AT team, which includes training parents in the use of technology, and the daily use of AT in all classrooms. She defines the use of AT as more than a modification: "It is a belief system that we have all endorsed."

Many sessions focused on the success of particular students and the collaborative approaches and supports used by their teams. A team from Crandall Elementary School in Enfield described using positive behavior supports in guiding a student to success in the classroom. In another session, Tyler Anderson, a student with intellectual disabilities from Rockville High School in Vernon, demonstrated educational tools that he uses in the general education classroom, with members of his team discussing their roles in supporting him. A session describing the Connecticut Chapter of KASA (Kids as Self Advocates) -- a network to help youth with special needs become self-advocates -- was led entirely by student members Sarah Liebskind and Sharyl Torres, who shared examples of how members have advocated for themselves in their schools and in the community.

Corinne Williams, a special education teacher from the Southington Public Schools, particularly enjoyed the student success stories, such as that of John Paul Cross. She heard John Paul in the session by the Meriden Public Schools on their school-to-work transition program. For John Paul, a student in the five-year program at Platt High School in Meriden, high expectations were key. At each year's Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meeting, the team raised the bar in terms of their expectations; each year, John Paul not only met, but exceeded these goals. By his second year at Platt, he participated fully in general education classrooms. Now in his fifth year, he has worked in several job settings, helping him to realize that after graduation he would like to work with kids, while taking courses at night. "Transition planning courses should be for everyone," said John Paul. "You can test out jobs while you're in school to determine what you like. A lot of other people spend four years in college without knowing what they want to do." Deborah Kohan, the transition coordinator at Platt, and John Paul's father Stephen spoke of the shared responsibility between the school and the home as crucial to helping students reach their potential. Ms. Kohan says she has learned a lot from John Paul, and ultimately hopes he will become an advocate for persons with disabilities.

A Chance to Network

In addition to sessions, the conference offered participants and presenters ample time and space to network with colleagues. An exhibit hall featuring vendors displaying curricular materials, software, assistive technology devices, books, and videos was open throughout the day. A handout in the conference packet provided a networking organizer so that participants could more easily keep track of the contact information for people they met at the conference, encouraging them to share information about responsible inclusive practices.

Conference participants reconvened for a closing ceremony featuring a performance sponsored by AFCAMP, the African and Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities. Representatives performed the original skit Invisible Me, involving music, dance, and vignettes that reflect the thoughts, challenges, and triumphs of persons with disabilities and their family members. "Take the 'dis' out of disability," proclaimed one performer, "because each of us has the power to achieve our dreams."

Celebrating Progress

At the beginning of the conference, Sarah Barzee, Assistant Director of Program Development for SERC, told the audience that, "We wanted to hear from you -- not professional presenters, but professional educators, out there doing wonderful things everyday." At the end of the day, this celebration of the state's talents was well-received.

Many participants reported finding this year's format informative and motivating. Susan Marie Lipka of the Berlin Public Schools had come to past Expanding Horizons conferences. She appreciated the opportunity to learn from the experiences of the district teams who presented. She also found it convenient that presenters were local. She plans to follow-up, for example, with someone she met who offers music therapy; located only a few towns away in West Hartford, it will be much easier to connect. A teacher of thirty years, Ms. Lipka commented, "To have been teaching for this many years and still come out with something new, and feel revitalized, is really great. So often it's, 'been there, heard that'."

For Linda Bianco, Inclusion Specialist at Redding Elementary in the Redding Public Schools, the conference confirmed that she and her school were on the right track. A teacher of some twenty years with ACES, Ms. Bianco is new to the position at Redding. "Seeing what so many others were doing verified to me that we're doing good things." She added, "I was impressed with the consistent message across presentations. Although the topics were different, the message was remarkably consistent from each speaker I listened to -- to set high expectations, be inclusive, and be creative. It was nice to see that the message is clearly getting out."

Energized by this year's conference, the SERC and CSDE LRE Team has already begun plans for the ninth annual Expanding Horizons conference to be held during National Inclusive Schools week on December 7. SERC would again like to share examples of programming and practice in Connecticut schools at the upcoming conference. For information about submitting a presentation proposal, please contact Catherine Wagner at SERC at (860) 632-1485, extension 346, or email wagner@ctserc.org.