Inclusion Conference - LA County

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Our exhibitors will be ready to share information on how they are supporting inclusion here in LA County and beyond. Many LACOE units will be there to hear from you about your needs and share what supports they can provide. Also, we are pleased to have several other organizations joining to share their work. These include:

• 806 Technologies
• ACSA
• Brookes Publishing
• Cambridge College
• Direct Ed
• The Monarch Center for Autism and The Reserve School

Participants will...
-be able to define and describe the importance of assistive technology
-explore the different types of assistive technology devices/materials most commonly used and its application
-become familiar with the service delivery process, such as identifying the equipment and/or services needed and available funding sources
-learn how to implement AT identified in the child's IEP or IFSP

In 2013, California launched a new accountability system based on factors that contribute to a quality education. California’s System of Support is one of the key components of this system with the overarching goal of helping LEAs meet the needs of each student with a focus on building local capacity to sustain improvement and effectively address disparities in opportunities and outcomes. To advance this effort, the Special Education System Improvement Lead Project (SIL) partnership has become a member of the State System of Support. The SIL project is providing no-cost professional learning and resources to build the capacity of SELPAs and LEAs statewide. This session aims to provide an overview of the SIL project. 

Creating Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students: It is important for educators to understand the different labels used within LGBTQ+ communities so that the learning environment may be safe and more inclusive.

This session will provide an overview of LGBTQ+ inclusive best practices and a deeper understanding of what the LGBTQ+ learner is facing.  Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of what CA and federal laws support the inclusion and support of LGBTQ+ students.

In this interactive session, participants will engage in hands-on activities that deepen awareness of access and inclusion for all learners and develop empathy and understanding of social-emotional learning that will enrich their classroom and school environments.

Key Objectives:

1. Foster understanding of inclusion for all students
2. Develop empathy and insight into learning challenges for at-risk students
3. Promote school culture that supports an equitable learning environment and access for all students through the lens of social-emotional learning

Target Audience: Anyone interested in being part of a growth mindset community.

The focus will be on the implicit bias process of the brain and how we can overcome the implicit bias to compensate for the automatic categorization of the brain as it affects all aspects of life race, gender, disability, ethnicity, and the multiple demographics of society.  

This presentation will highlight steps over the past two years to build and defend inclusive culture in the district's work with foster youth and students with a disability. Topics will include efforts and strategies to build inclusive systems, train a variety of stakeholders around equity, and share success stories from teams and schools that demonstrate truly inclusive culture.

Audience- ECE Providers, administrators, specialist and parents.
1.    Participants will learn about implicit bias
2.    Participants will acquire strategies to identify and manage implicit bias in an inclusive ECE setting
3.    Participants will engage in a self-reflective process to promote an inclusive ECE setting

Inclusive, equitable, and socially just preschool programs are required by the U.S. Department of Education (2015), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2015), the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (2017), and the California Superintendent of Education (2019). Preschool inclusion programs provide enormous benefits for everyone involved – e.g., children with disabilities, their families, children without disabilities, and school districts (U.SD. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, 2015). School districts must create classrooms where young children with and without disabilities are learning together through the collaboration of general and special education teachers. However, challenges exist with designing these collaborative placements – e.g., attitudes and beliefs, personnel training, fiscal understanding, and program quality (Barton & Smith, 2015).

Through the creation of school district/university partnership, many of the challenges of inclusive settings can be drastically minimized and benefits can be achieved for all professionals and students at the school. For the past 3 years, Cal State Dominguez Hills has designed a university and school district partnership that provides high-quality inclusive preschool programs with minimal challenges and maximum benefits to the schools. This breakout session will discuss: (1) Strategies to create university-school district inclusion partnerships; (2) The educational, legal, and financial benefits for all members of such partnerships; and, (3) Ways to avoid future legal and financial challenges through inclusion partnerships.

Don't miss out! 

Participants will...
...gain a better understanding of the history of and rationale for inclusive and equitable education.

...discuss learner variability and intentional design and redesign of systems and supports for students

...engage with the SIP Blueprint as a support in moving through phases of systems change.

...learn about free professional development events and technical assistance opportunities available through SIP as California's statewide project.

This presentation will be interactive and includes relevant information based on educational best practices and compliance of the IDEA for students with disabilities. The presentation is facilitated by teachers and administrators who work in collaboration in operating an inclusion model in the community and court school setting. It includes practical and applicable strategies to take back to any instructional setting.

Learning Outcomes:

• Teaching with a Purpose: Supporting the Learning of All Students
• Understanding IDEA and Least Restrictive Environment for students with disabilities: Equity and Access
• Exploring Fundamental Changes in School Systems: Breaking Down Silos

The school year of 2017-18 marked our pilot year of full inclusion at Los Angeles High School. Because of the success of the program, LA High has been chosen as the model for the implementation of full inclusion for the entire Los Angeles Unified School District. The Inclusion Program was also awarded the 2018-19 Humanities award from LAUSD. Multiple special education and general education students have won leadership and achievement awards from both within and outside LAUSD through this program.

Mr. Sahara and Mr. Nkwocha will share how the program originated, how it was implemented, and how we went from a pilot program to an award-winning program for the rest for the district to follow. We will also share with our viewers what a co-taught lesson plan looks like and how we actively use UDL strategies, technology, and the various co-teaching models to reach all levels of learners in our classroom.

Enter the Lounge (located down the hall from 602) and get your boxed lunch and drink and then proceed to Conference Center A & B. 

Audience- ECE Providers, early educators administrators, specialist,  and parents.

1. Participants will learn about the importance of inclusive early care and education and the requirements that promote inclusion.
2. Participants will reflect on the values for and inclusive environment for both children with and without disabilities.
3. Participants will learn about two different inclusion models.

Become more familiar with chronic conditions and implanted devices you may see in your classrooms.
Increase understanding as to why certain implanted devices are needed.

Increase comfort levels with unique learners in your center.
Feel empowered to enroll this population in your centers.

I will provide an overview of things to consider if your school site is looking a implementing co-teaching for inclusion.  This session is for special education and general education teachers and site/district administrators considering implementing co-teaching for inclusion at their school site or district.  I will give an overview of my own experiences as a site principal planning for co-teaching implementation as well.  

There are many facets to supporting English learners. This session will bridge three areas:

• what our learners, their families/communities, and we bring into the learning environment and how those are used,
• how seven defined principles of culturally responsive teaching are brought to life in our environments (e.g., classrooms), and
• how identified parts and pieces of the UDL Guidelines align and support the other two areas.

When you walk out, you will have heard/read educators' voices in each of these ares and will have participated in exercises where we put your knew knoweldge to work!

Join me as I share stories and insights from my journey as an "included" blind student. Attendees will gain an understanding of the accommodations and skills I required throughout my education to help me be successful, and how being included contributed to my success in school and after.

Please join us to end the day on a positive note and maybe even win a prize@