Immigrant families recognized during Inclusive Schools Week

LYNN-Students across the state are preparing for the seventh annual Inclusive Schools Week, held Dec. 3-7.The week is designed to highlight the accomplishments of families, schools, and communities that have dedicated time, labor, and resources to promoting inclusive education for children in the state’s school systems from across the world.This year’s theme, “Lessons from the World: Including All Children,” provides an “opportunity to focus on both international accomplishments and ongoing challenges associated with changing global attitudes, practices, and policies toward better educational outcomes for students around the globe,” according to a press release.Participants in all grades will read stories, learn facts, discover resources, and make connections with families and professionals around the world who are involved in the struggle toward building more inclusive schools and communities for all children and youth.Since its inception in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students with disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.The week also provides an opportunity for educators, students, and parents in Lynn 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.In communities such as Lynn, where immigrant students are often thrust into the classroom with very little knowledge of our language and culture, the program works to bridge the gap between students to not only provide insight into American culture, but also to other cultures throughout the world of education.Often these students struggle to keep up because of a limited support base at home and a strong language barrier, and educators in the city will focus on reaching out to students and families to make the transition easier both in and out of the classroom.While these efforts take place every day in schools across the city, Inclusive Schools Week will provide a further awareness and recognition for the work that teachers and school leaders do to ensure that immigrant students receive the best learning experience possible.The week is organized by the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative (the Collaborative) and Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) as a way of acknowledging the work and commitment of teachers, administrators, students, and parents in making their schools more inclusive, and thereby, significantly contributing to the development of a more inclusive society.In 1999, the Collaborative, as part of its work with the National Institute for Urban School Improvement, conducted research on the public’s perceptions of inclusion and inclusive educational practices.The Collaborative found that “inclusion” was broadly omitted from the education and public debate. Armed with this realization, the Collaborative developed the week to promote a national dialogue on the benefits of inclusion and inclusive educational practices, according to the organization’s official Web site.The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimated that there are 140 million children in the world who do not attend school due to gender, disability, and/or socio-economic discrimination. Those who are attending school are often not receiving a quality education.These statistics fuel the international movement toward educating children who are marginalized in their communities due to these factors, and provide support for students and teachers struggling with this adjustment.Several prominent government and philanthropic organizations, including UNESCO, the World Bank, and the Open Society Institute & Soros Foundations Network, are supporting projects that address inclusive education.By promoting an international dialogue among people and organizations that are pro