- Adapt and modify the way you do things to ensure the needs of all members are met. This could include your club rules, the environment and the equipment you use.
- Spread the word! Send an email, share on social media or even visit other clubs or classes to encourage participation in your club. Make sure everyone knows they are welcome.
- Listen. Understanding what people want to do helps make inclusion happen. Talk, listen to what they have to say, then take action.
- Avoid defining people by difference alone. This is fundamental to inclusion success. Treat each member as an individual and understand their needs and motivations.
- Focus on ability. Everybody has different experiences, abilities and skills. Find out what people can do and maximize this, while also accommodating their individual needs.
- Make a plan. Get your members together and create an action plan. This ensures your club makes a commitment and sets goals to achieve. Check your progress regularly.
- Take sensory needs and physical access into account while planning school events.
- Create a sensory break room with calm, quiet activities, sensory supports and safe spaces for students to use when the main event or activity becomes overwhelming.
- Allow students with disabilities early access to events to enable them to acclimate to the environment.
- Have inclusion kits on hand for field trips and events, with items like headphones, fidgets/squishies and weighted blankets for support as needed.
- Host a silent dance with all music played through headphones rather than speakers. Reserve a space at every dance for silent dancing.
Hispanic Heritage Month: August de los Reyes, Wanda Díaz-Merced, Selena Gomez, Frida Kahlo, Demi Lovato, Diego Peña, Dr. Victor Pineda, Cristina Sanz, Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Wanda Díaz-Merced is a blind astronomer who uses sonification (audio/sounds) to study the stars. She travels the world to promote equality of access to astronomy.
Native American Heritage Month: John Clarke, Alaqua Cox, Dekanawida, Cinda Hughes, Wilma Mankiller, Michael Naranjo, Sequoyah
Spotlight On: Alaqua Cox
Alaqua Cox was the first Native American character in the Marvel Comics Universe and the first deaf character with a prosthetic limb. She portrayed a character that depicts deafness in a way not typically shown in mainstream media.
Black History Month: Maya Angelou, Octavia Butler, Haben Girma, Amanda Gorman, LeDerick Horne, Barbara Jordan, Brad Lomax, Harriet Tubman, Stevie Wonder
Brad Lomax is a civil rights leader and disability rights activist with multiple sclerosis who helped lead the historic 504 Sit-In that led to the first civil rights protections for people with disabilities. Lomax was able to reach out to the Black Panther Party, who brought in much needed food and supplies for the protesters, enabling them to hold out for 26 days.
Women's History Month: Maya Angelou, Megan Bomgaars, Rebecca Cokley, Temple Grandin, Judy Heumann, Frida Kahlo, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, Emily Ladau, Greta Thunberg, Alice Wong (plus all of the other women on this list)
Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist who challenges world leaders to make changes and address the climate crisis, as well as being an autism activist.
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Elena Ashmore, Lydia X. Z. Brown, Ollie Cantos, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Mia Ives-Rublee, Jennifer Lee, Alice Wong
Spotlight On: Alice Wong
Disability rights advocate and founder of the Disability Visibility Project, Alice Wong fights for access and representation for people with disabilities. Alice Wong was born with spinal muscular atrophy and uses a motorized wheelchair and BPAP machine.
Jewish American Heritage Month: Rabbi Ruth Adar, Josh Feldman, Judy Heumann, Marlee Matlin, Ari Ne'eman, Itzhak Perlman, Pamela Rae Schuller, Liz Weintraub
Liz Weintraub is a disability rights advocate and hosts "Tuesdays With Liz: Disability Policy For All." She was recently named to President Biden's Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Pride Month: Rabbi Ruth Adar, Bobbie Lea Bennett, Anderson Cooper, August de los Reyes, Nyle DiMarco, Frida Kahlo, Demi Lovato, Barbara Jordan, Mia Mingus, Ali Stroker
Bobbie Lea Bennet was an activist for transgender and disability rights. She was a wheelchair user who had osteogenesis imperfecta and fought for gender confirmation surgery to be covered by her social security as promised before her procedure in a landmark case.
- Support inclusive activities like Sparkles Cheer, Unified Sports and Special Olympics.
- Plan for inclusive elementary performances and plays.
- Create inclusive play opportunities on the playground -- training and programs like those provided by Inclusion Matters can help.
- Use an equity lens and ask "who is missing?" in school activities and student leadership roles.
- Host a Lunch Bunch or inclusive lunchtime activities.
- Start a Connection Club to expand friendship opportunities for students with and without disabilities.
Inclusion Redefined
Since 2009, The Sparkle Effect has generated over 225 inclusive teams in over 31 states, directly involving over 13,000 students. Newbury Park High School was an early adopter, with parent adviser Debbie Hanna starting the Panther Sparkles team in 2010.
CVUSD now has Sparkles Cheer teams at NPHS, TOHS and WHS. They perform at school events, like rallies, lunch time performances, dance showcases, football and basketball halftime shows and Unified Sports games.
Performing at Special Olympics World Games in 2015
Promoting Social Inclusion Through Unified Sports
CVUSD participates in the Special Olympics Unified Champions Schools Program and has Unified Sports teams at Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Westlake High Schools and at Colina Middle School.
Here is an article on the 2022 event from the Panther Prowler, Special Olympics fosters inclusivity on the field.
Ideas for Accessible and Inclusive Plays and Performances
- If a student has mobility challenges, and the school stage is not accessible, ask to use the district's portable wheelchair lift. Set it up as far in advance as possible to ensure that the lift is in working order and that several school site staff members know how to operate it.
- Students with communication challenges or who are nonspeaking can deliver lines with an AAC device and with the help of a peer to provide cues onstage.
- For students with vision or visual perception challenges, consider using visual cues such as marking steps with colored tape. Tape may also be used to mark the edge of the stage, to mark where a student should stand or for any other directional prompts.
- Students who are blind or visually impaired can learn lines and songs with audio recordings, screen readers or braille. Provide opportunities for students to learn the stage layout and any physical cues at a time that is distraction free. Peers or support staff can also provide support on stage.
- Students who are deaf or hard of hearing can deliver lines with their preferred method of communication: sign language (ASL), AAC or spoken words. Cue cards or an ASL interpreter can provide stage cues, and peers can also provide support. An inclusive idea would be to have ALL the students in the play deliver some lines or sing a song using ASL.
- For students with attention or behavior challenges, consider giving them a small but meaningful part early in the performance so that they can retire gracefully from the stage if necessary or on a planned cue. Peers can help remind these students of cues and can also provide a guiding hand.
- For students with learning challenges, consider sending home an instructional video with music and movement or lines so they can practice at home. It may be hard for these students to learn their parts in a novel and less structured environment like a stage or Multi-Purpose Room, and they may need more opportunities to practice than what is available during the school day. Cue cards can also be used during practice or performances as well as hand signals as reminders.
- Students with sensory issues or anxiety may be too overwhelmed to handle being on stage. An alternative could be to film their lines in advance and project the video recording onscreen during the performance, as in the pictures above. The student can dress in costume, observe from the sidelines and can even take a bow with peers.
These are just a few ideas for accessibility and inclusion that have worked for students in the past. The vision is to provide meaningful and equitable participation for every student rather than requiring equal participation as a measure of success.
