Building-Based Change: One School's Journey toward Full Inclusion

Abstract

Prior to September 1996, Juan did not attend Oswego City Schools, although he lived in the district. He attended a special education class outside of his district for students with severe disabilities. Anna, who is a year younger than Juan, had attended classes throughout her elementary years in the district. In the fall of 1996, Juan, Anna, and 38 other stu dents with disabilities began seventh grade at Oswego Middle School (O.M.S.). In former years, approximately 15 of these students would have been assigned to self contained special education classes at the middle school or outside of the district. This change was part of ongoing, district-wide efforts. By 1994 self-contained programs in Oswego's three elementary buildings had been systematically replaced by inclusive programs (e.g., consultant teacher and team-teaching models) for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. However, there were still self-contained special education classes for students with mild and moderate disabilities at the middle and high school. Also, like Juan, most secondary students who had severe disabilities were served outside of the district in a segregated program provided by an inter mediate education agency. Using a strategic planning process, Oswego Middle School spent nearly two years immersed in building based planning to prepare for this restructuring (Rigazio-DiGilio & Beninghof, 1994). We will describe in this article specific steps and activities which committee members engaged in throughout planning and initial implementation stages.