Contact Inclusive Education Project: https://www.inclusiveeducationproject.org/

[email protected]

Listen to the Inclusive Education Project podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Contact me on social media or through my website for more information on my work: loveisaclassroom.com

Thank you for listening!

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show. It helps other listeners find this show.

Follow me on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram 

More Than an Interpreter

In fourth episode of the second series of 'Love is a Classroom: Stories of Inclusion,' the focus is on Wendy Bowman, a sign language interpreter with over 30 years of experience. In the episode, she shares her perspective on Deaf culture, education, and the essential role of interpreters. Wendy discusses the challenges and successes of the inclusion of deaf children in general education settings, emphasizing the need for the right resources and support. She also highlights the impact of inclusion on both deaf and hearing students, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual understanding. The episode concludes with a reflection on the broader implications for the education system and a call to action for better support and advocacy for children with disabilities.

Wendy Bowman: [email protected]

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/

1) How does listening to Brooke change or challenge your perspectives around family partnerships when working with family members of children with an identified disability?

2) What part of this episode struck you as a significant point about creating inclusive classroom for children and their families?

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/

In the second series of Love Is a Classroom: Stories of Inclusion listeners will meet Brooke Walker, Wendy Bowman, Ms. Onofre, Ms. Anderson, and others. Together they tell the story of a team coming together to create classrooms inclusive to all children, especially Navee Walker - a deaf child not introduced to language until she was adopted at 4 1/2. But high-quality meaningful inclusion requires appropriate, individualized supports. As Navee goes into second grade, the availability of supports is in question. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

This focused episode is about advocating for a child with a disability or who is neurodivergent. It features a panel of three distinguished parent advocates. The panelists share their experiences, stories, and professional knowledge. They talk about building meaningful relationships with IEP and IFSP team members, advocating when, from a parental perspective the district data isn't sufficient, continuity between classrooms, schools, and district policies, and influencing changes in culture and policy through meaningful relationships. The advocacy panel was recorded as a launch event for my memoir Love Is a Classroom. The topics discussed come from experiences I shared in the memoir.  

About the panelists:

Kimberly Travers is dedicated to enhancing the lives of families and their children with disabilities along with the professionals who serve them by focusing on Early Intervention policy, practice, and research. Kimberly’s professional and personal experience and expertise are critical elements that she brings to many classrooms, councils, boards, and workgroups, as well as professional development activities. Her passion for family-centered, natural environments, and evidence-based practices can be seen during her presentations and advisory work, inspiring families and professionals to team more successfully. Kimberly has extensive experience at the local, state, and national levels in the field of early intervention. Kimberly’s work experience includes service provision and service coordination to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, training and technical assistance, and policy recommendations. Kimberly’s journey as a parent of a child with a disability elevated her understanding of the importance of the family voice and informed decision-making at all levels.

Sarah Davidon has over 30 years of experience in the field of policy, health promotion and prevention, early childhood models of impact, and children's mental health. She is a passionate and dedicated advocate for improving access to children's mental health care and creating effective public policies. As the Deputy Ombudsman at Colorado Ombudsman for Behavioral Health Access to Care (BHOCO), I provide leadership and co-create strategies to help those who are seeking care or providing care navigate complicated systems, investigate concerns and complaints, and assess recommendations for reform.

Beth Cole has worked in early intervention since 1996. I began as a parent advocate after my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2-1/2. I worked as a paraeducator for 6 years in the same K-8 school where my son was. I also worked at the local and state level in Colorado’s early intervention Part C program for children birth – 3 with developmental delays and disabilities. I was very involved in helping to develop Colorado’s Part C early intervention provider training and the telehealth training. I’ve now been working at WestEd since 2021, providing TA to state Part C programs on their fiscal systems and I’m a part of the team working on an OSEP-funded demonstration project that focuses on screening and referral to Part C or other early childhood programs. I received my masters in Nonprofit Management in 2004 and my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Equity in 2019.

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

We started with one teacher, Rochelle Buniger. Episodes 2 through 4 showed that the acts of one teacher have an impact that goes far beyond the classroom. In this episode, I hope you, my listener, will see that high-quality meaningful inclusion is more than the love of one teacher and the positive outcomes of inclusion have the potential to go just as far for children without disabilities as it does for children with disabilities. Episode 5, the final episode in this inaugural series features Christy Donathan, the director of the early childhood education department in District 51. Her stories and the responses to my questions provide a glimpse behind the scenes into a school district that creates inclusive experiences like the one Archer and his family received.

Resources mentioned in Episode 5

Pyramid Model Resources: https://challengingbehavior.org/pyramid-model/overview/basics/

Inclusive Schooling: https://www.inclusiveschooling.com/

The Circle Makers by Julie Causton https://a.co/d/7QIVnKW

Kristie Donathan [email protected]

If you have a story you want to share, go to Loveisaclassroom.com/contact

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/

In this episode, Archer, Aubrey, and Aaliyah, the children of Zach and Anita Hamilton, whose stories you heard in episodes 2 and 3, share their experiences growing up together. Their words, particularly those of Aubrey, reinforce the positive enduring impact of Archer's inclusion in Miss Rochelle's inclusive preschool classroom in District 51. In Episode 1, Rochelle Said, her conversation with Archer was as good as any she had with anyone. She did not oversell.

Cover art by Josie Filippelli https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-filippelli/