It's all about building bridges for student inclusion at Edgerton Elementary School, which is the school the author leads in Kalispell, Montana. When the author became principal of Edgerton five years ago, the school was planning to introduce a cohort of preschool students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into kindergarten. Everyone at the…

Concern that too many Australian children, particularly Indigenous children, are not ready to start school has spurred a series of changes to the pre-school sector. Included among these changes are nationwide mass surveying and the introduction of a unified curriculum framework together with moves towards standardised entry assessment. Focusing on…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) states that transition planning should begin at the earliest age appropriate and no later than age 16. IDEA requires schools to make collaborative efforts to provide students access to an array of postschool activities including integrated employment, postsecondary…

Self-contained classrooms and resource rooms have been an important component of the continuum of placements available to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, these specialized classrooms have been closing in recent years. A variety of factors are contributing to this, most notably the impact of cochlear implants. This article…

This paper describes a small-scale research project undertaken in July 2007, which focused on a group of students with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) currently attending a mainstream secondary school. Three focus groups were held with students in Years 9 and 11 and with their parents in order to explore current practice on…

The transfer to secondary education can be an anxious time and planning ahead can help. This article offers practical advice about what to consider, when to start planning and discusses many of the issues involved in the transition to later schooling. Written from the perspective of the English school system, many of the issues and principles are…

A transitional English class proved successful in helping learning disabled high school students reenter the mainstream. The class featured team teaching, variable grouping, and individualized grading criteria for such class activities as interviewing and writing. (CL)

The Autism Spectrum Australia Satellite Class Project features small specialist classes for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) within general education schools. The program incorporates individual education goals within timetable based on the general school curricula, in conjunction with a schedule of integrated activities. The aim of…

The project conducted research and developed a demonstration model aimed at helping schools and families plan transitions for young children moving from special preschools to less specialized settings including regular preschools and kindergarten. The model's target population consisted of 40 handicapped children (ages 3-5) enrolled in three…

Stages in transfering mentally retarded students in England from special schools to mainstream classes are described: discussion with class teachers, criterion-referenced and normative evaluation, mainstream school selection, liaison teacher visit, discussion with parents, use of mainstream school's materials at the special school, part-time and…

This case study of one resource program describes structures and techniques used in the regular classroom, playground, lunchroom, and resource room to help in mainstreaming handicapped students. In four years this program saw a 42 percent reduction in students classified as handicapped, although school enrollment grew by almost 38 percent.…

The paper reviews a panel presentation on the essential components, policies, and strategies of a system for effectively moving emotionally disturbed (ED) students into least restrictive educational environments and maintaining them there. The first two parts of the session focused on a system for partially mainstreaming center school (seventh and…

A teacher of handicapped children discusses how praise and patience have helped her students overcome learning and behavior problems and voices the conviction that disabled children should be mainstreamed as soon as they show evidence of readiness. (PP)

A program providing preparatory training and integrated primary schooling for blind children in Goroka (Papua New Guinea) is described. Specialized training at the Mt Sion Centre for the Blind prepares students for mainstreaming at the local community school. The center also provides teacher training services and a specialist resource teacher to…

This article presents a comprehensive transition model for mainstreaming children from early childhood special education into kindergarten. The SRA Model of Transition outlines transition practices to be implemented by the sending, receiving, and administrative staff. Suggestions for including parents throughout the process are offered. Transition…