INCLUSIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE

Connor Moore

Special Olympics Project UNIFY, National Youth Activation

Committee

connor.moore8@me.com

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Meaningful engagement in a diverse school environment

Special Olympics Project UNIFY®

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Special Olympics Project UNIFY®

Special Olympics Project UNIFY is an education-based project that uses sports and education programs to activate young people

to develop school communities where all youth are agents of change, fostering respect, dignity

and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities.

What Does This Look Like?

Project UNIFY School

Whole School Engagement

Youth Leadership

and Advocacy

Inclusive Sports

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DISCUSSION

ü  Talk about a situation in which you felt empowered by an adult.

ü  Talk about a situation in which you felt disempowered by an adult.

ü What’s the difference?

Discussion

STUDENT / MODERATOR RELATIONSHIP

Inclusive Youth Leaders and Adult Allies

What do students need from adults?

Someone who:

•  understands how youth communicate and collaborate

•  identifies and supports strengths of each individual leader

•  believes in the value of inclusive youth leadership

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What should adults expect from their students?

•  Ownership of the project

•  Decision-making

•  Primary accountability

•  Honest opinions

•  Willingness to learn and contribute

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Adult Ally Adult Moderator

What’s the difference?

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Leads students Students lead

Picks a core group of students to work with

Meaningfully engages all members of a group

Dominates the conversation Leads with a question

Adult Ally Adult Moderator

What’s the difference?

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Assumes everyone understands the goal &

what is expected of them

Co-creates and articulates expectations

Allows outspoken youth to dominate the

experience for all

Helps insure a safe environment for idea

sharing

Plays a 90% role Plays a 10% role

ADULT ALLIES & INCLUSIVE YOUTH LEADERSHIP

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Supporting the five pillars that make Inclusive Youth Leadership work

What is Inclusive Youth Leadership?

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Incl

usiv

e Yo

uth

Lead

ersh

ip

Inclusion

Co-leadership

Teamwork

Communication

Environment

Adult Allies & Inclusion

•  Engage students with all learning styles

•  More than “a nice thing to do”

•  Recognize and rectify exclusion •  Exclusive language

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Adult Allies & Co-Leadership

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•  Supporting a partnership

•  Sharing responsibility

N o t a p o w e r s t r u g g l e !

Adult Allies & Teamwork

•  Establish a mentor/student relationship

•  Take part in student-run activities and events

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Adult Allies & Communication

•  Be aware of tone and vocabulary

•  Always use multiple methods of communication

•  Engage disengaged students – in an inclusive manner

•  Activity

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Adult Allies & Environment

•  “I learn and share best when….”

•  Create a safe space for contribution

•  Appropriate praise as a segway to further conversation

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Communication Activity

1.  Draw a line to divide the paper in 2 sections.

2.  Draw a circle in the top right corner.

3.  Draw a rectangle in the bottom left corner.

4.  Draw a star in the middle of the paper.

5. Draw a face in the circle at the top right corner.

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Communication Activity (cont.)

•  Does you picture look like the person’s next to you

•  How might these differences relate to our communication

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** I gave standardized statements, yet there are different results**

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD® CAMPAIGN

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A youth-led and adult-allied campaign to create an inclusive school environment

The Problem

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The Special Olympics – Monty Python

The Solution

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Champions Together – Special Olympics Project UNIFY®

Spread the Word to End the Word®

“Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting

point toward creating more accepting attitudes and

communities for all people. Language affects attitudes

and attitudes affect actions. Pledge to use

respectful, people-first language.”

- R-word.org 22 / Special Olympics

Social Media

Go to: www.r-word.org

REFLECTION 1.  What is one item,

concept, or insight you learned?

2.  What challenged you?

3.  What surprised you?

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Take Away Points

1.  Exclusion can best be rectified by utilizing youth leaders.

2.  Adult Allies make Inclusive Youth Leadership successful.

3.  Language is powerful

4.  Inclusion necessitates diversity

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Connect with us!

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Fb.com/ProjectUNIFY

@SOProjectUNIFY

youtube.com/specialolympicshq

projectunifyblog.wordpress.com

Resources

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www.socialinclusion.org

http://bit.ly/IYLGuide

Special Olympics

Get Into It

http://bit.ly/SISchools