Newton, MA—The 5th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week will be celebrated December 5-9, 2005, in classrooms, schools, and communities throughout the country. The Week highlights and celebrates the progress our nation's schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to all students, particularly those who have disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It also provides an important opportunity for educators, students, and families to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children and youth.
This year's theme "Bridging the Gap: Achievement for All" focuses on how schools and districts are narrowing the disparity in academic performance between individual groups of students. The success of students with disabilities and those who are racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse has been regarded as among the most significant issues faced by schools and communities in past 30 years. Since the mid-1990s, newly rigorous federal mandates have pushed schools, many with limited resources, to demonstrate that all students, including those with disabilities, are making progress. What can we learn from communities that have made progress in meeting these goals? Most significant, they have made a deliberate commitment to provide a promising educational experience for all students. The 2005 National Inclusive Schools Week provides an opportunity to highlight the successful approaches many schools have used to improve learning outcomes for all students.
Since its inception in December 2001, National Inclusive Schools Week has been celebrated in thousands of schools and communities around the country and world. The Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative and Education Development Center, Inc. organize the Week as a way of acknowledging the hard work and commitment of students, families, and educators in making their schools and communities more inclusive, and, thereby, significantly contributing to the development of a more inclusive society.
An updated version of the popular Celebration Kit will provide educators, students, and families with everything they need to participate in the Week, including new celebration ideas and activities for bridging the gap in educational performance; publications that focus on the benefits of inclusive schools; suggested readings for children and adults; and materials to use in promoting the Week in their schools and communities. The kit is free and will be available for downloading from www.inclusiveschools.org this fall. Posters, bumper stickers, stickers, and pencils are available for purchase. Check the Week's Web site for additional details as they develop.
To learn more about the 5th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week, visit
www.inclusiveschools.org or contact Deborah Hall at nisw@edc.org or 877-332-2870 (TTY: 617-964-5448).
