INCLUSIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE
Connor Moore
Special Olympics Project UNIFY, National Youth Activation
Committee
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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