Celebrating our Strategic Themes
Inclusion at ISY
Theme Statement:
Theme Statement: ISY is committed to addressing the individual learning of each student. A program of Inclusion will ensure differentiated instruction for all of our students, de-emphasizing the need for additional tutoring.
Setting the Foundations
Upon adopting Inclusion as a Strategic Theme, an inclusion team was set up to create a long term plan. Following this plan, ISY received a grant from the Office of Overseas Schools at the U. S. State Department allowing ISY to enlist the services of international inclusive education consultant, Dr. Belinda Karge from Concordia University in California.
Dr. Karge worked closely with ISY as the school developed inclusive structures and practices to ensure that every student’s academic and social emotional needs are met within a rigorous academic program in ways that are consistent with ISY’s compassionate Mission and Vision.
In consultation with Dr. Karge, ISY developed a research-based, Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to identify and address student needs. A new Instructional Learning Services (ILS) team was created to lead and support the development of inclusive structures and practices. One of its primary responsibilities is to oversee the implementation of the MTSS supporting teachers to differentiate their instructional practices for every student within the MTSS structure.
The Tier Structure
Student needs fall within 4 separate tiers of the MTSS system. Tier 1 students will typically have their needs met in the classroom by their teachers. Students with Tier 2 needs generally have mild to moderate gaps in learning or difficulties with a particular concept which are addressed in class by their teacher supported by the ILS team. Students with Tier 3 and 4 learning needs require more intensive support. This support may include individualized or small group work and/or push-in classroom support and are documented in Instructional Learning Plans (ILPs). The MTSS allows for students to move between the tiers as their learning needs change.
“This has been accomplished. Your teachers realize they are doing Tier 1 intervention in the classroom and this has freed up your Learning Support team to do a good job at Tier 2 and 3.”
Dr. Belinda Karge
ISY Inclusive Practices
A cohort of ISY teachers completed a masters course; the State University of New York (SUNY) Masters Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies. This introduced the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines which were then adapted into the ISY Inclusive Practices, a framework for teachers to collaborate on ways to meet the educational needs of every student. Importantly, the ISY Inclusive Practices also provides for the extension of students who are academically accelerated.
To be further inclusive of the needs of academically advanced students, ISY partnered with The Center for Talented Youth out of John Hopkins University, Baltimore. Another initiative within the school was the development of a mentoring program to connect academically accelerated students to teachers able to mentor them in a subject beyond their grade level.
Professional Development
Over the last four years, teacher professional development has focused on developing and reinforcing school-wide inclusive instructional practices. An early focus was the work of Next Frontier Inclusion, an international schools initiative to promote and protect the interests of children who learn in different ways or at different rates.To promote the collaborative capabilities of our teaching teams, teachers have been trained in the philosophy and practices of Adaptive Schools. Instructional professional development has focused on inclusive practices that have proven effective in international schools including:
- Leading MTSS for equity and inclusion
- Thinking routines
- Making student learning visible
- Inclusive and innovative assessment practices
- ESL students in the mainstream
In addition to practices that focus on the academic needs of students, teachers have been trained in student-centered social and emotional learning approaches including:
- Responsive Classrooms
- Mindfulness techniques
- Anti-bias education
All of these practices have been incorporated into the ISY Inclusive Practices. To support the sharing of ideas and effective inclusive strategies within the faculty, conferences are also organized in which faculty hear from international experts and attend workshops presented by their colleagues on their experiences of inclusive practices in the classroom.
Curriculum Review
Curriculum is reviewed to ensure that all subjects in all grades are inclusive of the needs of all students. One example from the Elementary School was a move away from a one textbook approach to learning in Mathematics. The same mathematical skills and knowledge are now taught in a variety of ways to better address the diverse needs of all students, including English Language Learners. In the Secondary School, the English Department reviewed grade level texts and introduced books that better reflect the varied interests and reading levels of students each grade.
Inclusion Resources and Technology Integration
The inclusion program was boosted by the addition of a new position of an inclusion specialist. The ISY inclusion handbook was reviewed to include inclusive instructional resources and the use of technology systems to manage the referral and tracking of differentiated learning needs in the classroom. Student individual learning plans (ILPs) were then integrated into our student management system, PowerSchool to give teachers valuable information and help them apply differing teaching strategies to different students.
Lynn Shoemaker
Inclusion Specialist
The Scholarship Program
The ISY Board of Trustees adopted a scholarship program at the same time the Strategic Themes were developed. Two students joined ISY in Grade 8 that year with an additional two students added into Grade 8 each academic year. The scholarship program is designed to take these students all the way through to graduation. The scholarship program has been a great success with more and more students applying each year. ISY has been lucky to have a wide range of students enroll in this program with different abilities. The ISY approach to inclusion and the scholarship program provide all of our students with the opportunity to learn in a diverse and inclusive environment.
Admissions Procedures
Alongside inclusive practices in the classroom, ISY’s admissions procedures and policies were revised. These revisions included a change to our admissions brochure reflecting a more holistic approach to admissions, more welcoming to students with a broader range of abilities and learning needs. This change in policy has had a profound and positive effect on the climate and culture at ISY which is in turn a reflection of our mission of compassion and vision of positive change.
External Evaluation
After two years of program and teacher professional development, Dr. Karge conducted an audit of ISY’s inclusive structures and practices to evaluate whether they did in fact support inclusion. Dr. Karge was very satisfied that they did and was very complimentary of the commitment and innovation shown by ISY teachers in meeting the diverse needs of their students. Here are some quotes from her report:
“Teacher teams were able to provide strong examples of ways they differentiate in the classroom…Many leaders spend too much time getting buy in and not a lot of time doing! In your case, ISY is doing. The LS support team, the teachers, counselors and administrators are providing a supportive environment for all learners. Substantial process is being made.”
Dr. Belinda Karge
The International School Yangon
20 Shwe Taungyar Street
Bahan Township
Yangon, Myanmar
+95 (0) 9 880 441 040