Inclusive by Design: Creating a Holistic Education Program Based on Universal Design for Learning Principles

• In Event: Addressing Minoritized Populations in Holistic Education

Abstract

In this presentation, I will share my experience in creating a holistic and inclusive early childhood through middle school education program based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, implemented in a public school setting in Washington, D.C. As the founder and Head of School of Creative Minds International Public Charter School (CMI) from 2011-2019, my goal was to incorporate inclusive design principles and an educational environment in which students with diverse learning profiles, including some who were diagnosed with “disabilities” would be motivated, and engaged in deep learning experiences alongside their “neurotypical” peers.

In the Washington D.C. context, charter schools provide an opportunity for innovation in the public-school sector, with the possibility to set up unique programming, and the autonomy to choose the school curriculum. To accomplish CMI’s inclusive mission, the program incorporated a projects-based, thematic international curriculum, a strong social-emotional support system, teacher training in child development and sensory processing, an arts education program, as well as individualized services for students with “disabilities” based on their needs. In addition, the School’s daily schedule offered an array of activities to incorporate UDL principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression in the program, taking into account the developmental, social-emotional, and cognitive differences of students, as well as their strengths and interests in the learning process.

In the broader public education context in the United States, schools are held accountable for student achievement based on students’ standardized test scores as the single most important indicator of academic growth and achievement. One of the consequences of this policy framework is that schools are incentivized to emphasize predetermined grade-level standards to enhance students’ test performance as a number one priority, shifting focus away from student’s individual needs, or the development of unique strengths and interests of children attending public schools. Further, the policy’s misalignment with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was intended to guide educational planning for students with disabilities based on their individual needs, has never been resolved. Inclusion in this context has become an afterthought and a band-aid approach, and schools are incentivized to focus on test performance as the indicator of student and school success, instead of prioritizing innovative models that address children’s holistic growth. These system-level policy discrepancies in educational goals and priorities are left to school-level actors to resolve; as a result, schools struggle to support students’ holistic development or equip them with skills needed in the 21st century, further disadvantaging students with the greatest needs for support.

Therefore, the presentation will include two parts: 1. A discussion of the school model, including UDL design principles and classroom practices that provided access and support students’ overall development in addition to their academic growth; 2. A dialogue with conference attendees regarding the challenges in our public education policies and systems that impede holistic education opportunities for diverse student needs, hindering progress and innovation, and perpetuating cycles of inequity.

Author

• Golnar Abedin, American University
  Presenting Author