The Bridge School shares a campus with North Elementary School, in the Hillsborough City School District. This physical placement provides significant benefit to the educational program for students from both schools and provides our staff the opportunity to see our students in an inclusive environment. The Bridge School education teams and teachers from North School plan for our students’ participation in appropriate grade-level general education classroom activities for selected subject areas, recess, and school-wide events. A Bridge School staff member accompanies each student during all general education experiences and provides ongoing support to address student goals and maximize each student’s ability to participate, interact with peers and learn curricular content. The Bridge staff member takes careful notice of what accommodations and adaptations are necessary to ensure active participation and brings that information back to the educational team for future planning. Our students’ participation in grade-appropriate general education classrooms increases opportunities for educational involvement and social development for Bridge School students and for the students at North Elementary School.
Selective Inclusion
We use an adaptation of the Participation Model (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2006) as a guide when determining expected levels of participation for each student in the general education environment. Educational teams assess and monitor the levels of support required, including accommodations, material adaptations, and interaction strategies that maximize their participation in general education classrooms. This is an important step in our process of identifying the necessary accommodations and supports that will enable our students to be successful when they transition back to the public school setting.
Drew uses her communication board to interact with her friends at North School.
Abigail’s friends and peers enjoy some hands-on experiences mixing the batter for some cupcakes. North School students are eager to be her ‘buddy’.
Elle’s instructional assistant goes with her to classes at North School, but stays in the background until Elle needs her assistance. This fading support increases Elle’s independence and promotes her interactions with her peers.
Drew’s group was given the assignment to develop a new game, make up the rules, design and create the components and then, teach it to others in the North School classroom. Her teammates joined her at The Bridge School to work on their project.
Bridge School students enjoy visiting the North School library on a weekly basis. They explore the bookshelves, select the books they want to check out and participate in book-reading events.
Jackson was happy to find a book about one of his favorite topics. The preschool books are on the lower shelves, which makes it more accessible for our students.
Learning how to check out a book is a new experience for preschoolers and the librarian at North School loves to introduce the process to students.
The playground is another shared space with North School and provides additional opportunities for our students to engage with one another. The hands free upright walker lets Collin choose where he wants to go, with whom he engages, and what he wants to do.
