WILMINGTON, MA – Wilmington School Superintendent Mary DeLai published her weekly blog post on Sunday, reporting on her experience at the Federation for Children with Special Needs annual ‘Visions of Community’ 2016 Conference. Read DeLai’s blog post HERE or below:
On Saturday, March 5th, a group of 29 Wilmington Public Schools staff attended the Federation for Children with Special Needs annual Visions of Community 2016 conference. This opportunity was made possible in part due to a very generous anonymous donation and we all want to express our gratitude to the donors. It was a great day filled with learning and sharing.
The day started with introductions to the many leaders of state level agencies that work each and every day to help individuals with disabilities. Following these introductions, the Federation presented its annual Community Partnership Awards. These awards recognize individuals who exemplify leadership in helping students succeed. Fortunately, we were all there to support and celebrate one of our own staff members, Kristin O’Toole, who teaches Kindergarten at the Wildwood Early Childhood Center. Kristin was presented with the General Education Teacher Award. Those that nominated Kristin write about her, “Kristin embodies all of the qualities that a teacher needs to build a successful learning environment for all students, and she epitomizes what it means to be ‘inclusive.’ Kristin treats each of her students as exceptional and special individuals who bring unique strengths to her classroom.” Congratulations Kristin – we’re so proud of you!
After awards came the Keynote presentation from Dr. Josie Badger. This was for me perhaps one of the most amazing keynote presentations I have had the pleasure of hearing. Dr. Badger is an incredibly accomplished individual. She is the Youth Director at the PEAL Center in Pennsylvania where she helps youth transition to work and develop leadership skills. She graduated summa cum laude from Geneva College, majoring in Disability Law and Advocacy, completed graduate school for Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Pittsburgh, and received a Doctorate in Health Care Ethics from Duquesne University. In 2012, she was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America. She herself was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy.
Dr. Badger focused her remarks on those aspects of her life that contributed to her success, most of which came outside of the classroom. She stated that relationships, independence, and expectation for her formed a “triangle of resilience,” noting that the triangle is the strongest of all shapes.
Relationships were the key to the development of her social skills. Having friends made her feel worthwhile and that she had a purpose in life. She pointed to research that shows that for an individual with disabilities, every 10 friends equals another year of employment and compensation increases; an individual with 25 friends, for example, can anticipate 2.5 more years of gainful employment and pay raises than an individual without these meaningful relationships.
She also talked about the importance of independence which for her, she acknowledges, is a team effort. Dr. Badger shared with us that her definition of independence does not necessarily mean doing things on your own, but doing what you want to do in your own time. She shared the story of wanting her own special space to be with her friends outside of her home. Her parents purchased an old camper that they set up in their yard. This was her “tree fort” of sorts; a place to hang out with her friends away from the adults. For her, this was independence. As she stated, “it’s important to be able to do stupid stuff and to be able to make mistakes with dignity.”
Finally, Dr. Badger talked about expectations. When people don’t expect much of us, we tend to not expect much of ourselves. She recounted a time when she was at her local Costco store sitting in her scooter by the exit doors. As people passed by her, they would try to hand her their receipts to be checked. Clearly the message to her was that all people in scooters by the door are their to check receipts. What a sad message to receive.
Near the end of her speech, Dr. Badger reminded us that goldfish grow to the size of their container. We are all just like goldfish. We grow to the size of our container. If you keep us in a little glass bowl, we will stay small. But if you put us in a pond, we become huge. When we put limits on ourselves or others, we prevent growth. Students with disabilities are whole just as they are. When we exclude them, we limit their growth. When we restrict them, we limit their growth. When we expect less from them, we limit their growth. Dr. Badger’s address reinforced for me the importance of least restrictive environment. When we restrict the environment – academic, social, emotional, physical – we limit a student’s ability to become all that they can be. No doubt, there are many future Dr. Badger’s in our midst and we have an obligation to make sure they are able to thrive and flourish so that they can fully participate and share all that they have to contribute to the world.
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As referenced in Superintendent DeLai’s blog, here are photos from Twitter of teacher Kristin O’Toole receiving her award:
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