Inclusive Schools Week 2023

Below are suggestions for Inclusive Schools Week celebrations and resources to support planning for EDD and Pre-K programs. School sites are also welcome to create original celebrations that highlight inclusion in their communities:

School-wide Celebrations

• Start your morning circle by prompting students to use pictures or augmentative communication to introduce Inclusive Schools Week and show students there are ways outside of words to express their thoughts and emotions
• Invite a group like Canine Companions to speak or facilitate an activity for a school site assembly

Classroom Activities

• Collaborate with your school librarian to read-aloud one of our featured inclusive books for EDD & Pre-K, such as We Move Together, and facilitate a discussion about how students can authentically include their peers
• Implement a response card strategy in one of your daily activities, like this one provided by Stetson, to practice differentiated and inclusive instructional practices that can be used beyond the week

Specials Activities

• Design an art project to share with district leaders featuring work from your students, drawing inspiration from some of the visual artwork from last year, to showcase their diverse interests and abilities
• Explore the PE Department resources and lesson plans for Inclusive Schools Week in partnership with Special Olympics of Northern California

In our elementary schools, principals are kicking off the week by leading activities and discussions about Inclusion. Teachers, librarians and parents are also doing read alouds and talking about being accepting and proud of differences. School sites are also sharing and posting videos about inclusion and doing writing activities in their classes.

Below are suggestions for Inclusive Schools Week celebrations and resources to support planning. Schools are also welcome to create original celebrations that highlight inclusion in their communities:

School-wide Celebrations

• Create an inclusion bulletin board featuring relevant student work about what makes them unique or pictures and information about disability heroes
• Start your morning circle by talking about Inclusive Schools Week and expanding the languages and communication used (pictures, augmentative communication, etc.)
• Invite a speaker from our list of community partners (for example, Special Olympics) to speak to your students about inclusion and ability awareness

Classroom Activities

• Collaborate with your school librarian to read-aloud one of our featured inclusive books and facilitate a reflective discussion of how students can promote inclusion
• Check out sample writing activities from our Inclusive Arts Showcase inspiration from beautiful poetry and illustrations created by students in previous years
• Select a lesson plan from our inclusion guide surrounding ability awareness or respectful language

Specials Activities

• Have students create visual or written art to submit to our Inclusive Arts Showcase, art should be tied to this year’s theme of “Unity in the Community” and can be related to their disability, gender, cultural heritage, etc.
• Explore the PE Department resources and lesson plans for Inclusive Schools Week in partnership with Special Olympics of Northern California
• Invite a group like Canine Companions to speak or facilitate an activity

In our middle schools there are Inclusive Schools Week Virtual Film Festival and learning experiences about difference and inclusion during Advisory.

Below are suggestions for Inclusive Schools Week celebrations and resources to support planning. Schools are also welcome to create original celebrations that highlight inclusion in their communities:

School-wide Celebrations

• Create an inclusion bulletin board (short poems, artwork, etc.) featuring how students see inclusivity in action in your school community 
• Invite a speaker from our list of community partners to speak to your students about what inclusion can look like and how they can be inclusive in and outside of school
• Create an inclusion video of different students talking about what inclusion means

Classroom Activities

• Join our keynote session “San Francisco - From the Birthplace of the Disability Rights Movement to Today” to learn about Inclusion in our city.
• Check out sample writing activities from our Inclusive Arts Showcase for inspiration from beautiful poetry and illustrations created by students in previous years
• Select a pre-written lesson plan from our inclusion guide regarding ability awareness and respectful language, such as the “Understanding Disabilities” reflective exercise

Specials Activities

• Have students create visual or written art to submit to our Inclusive Arts Showcase, which can be related to their disability, gender, cultural heritage, etc.
• Explore the PE Department resources and lesson plans for Inclusive Schools Week in partnership with Special Olympics of Northern California
• Invite one of our adaptive sports partners to speak and facilitate an activity at your school site to demonstrate how participation can take many forms

Feel free to use these examples for inspiration!

• Advisory Inclusion Slide deck from Martin Luther King Middle School with a week's worth of classroom activities.
• Inclusive Doors decorating project from Presidio MS
• What Inclusion Means from Aptos MS

During Inclusive Schools Week SFUSD high schools address ableism, disability awareness and best practices for supporting students with disabilities. 

Below are suggestions for Inclusive Schools Week celebrations and resources to support planning. Schools are also welcome to create original celebrations that highlight inclusion in their communities:

School-wide Celebrations

• Create an inclusion bulletin board featuring relevant student work about what makes them unique or pictures and information about disability heroes
• Invite a speaker from our list of community partners to speak to your students about what inclusion can look like and how they can be inclusive in and outside of school
• Enable Special Education teachers at your school to share best practices for supporting students with disabilities each morning (email, staff announcement, etc.)

Classroom Activities

• Join our keynote session “San Francisco - From the Birthplace of the Disability Rights Movement to Today” to learn about the intersection between Civil & Disability Rights movements and have students complete a reflection
• Check out sample writing activities from our Inclusive Arts Showcase for inspiration from beautiful poetry and illustrations created by students in previous years
• Lead a discussion on the power of language and complete an activity about People-First Language

Specials Activities

• Allow a student-led organization, such as Best Buddies, conduct an “Instagram Takeover” to promote inclusion
• Explore the PE Department resources and lesson plans for Inclusive Schools Week in partnership with Special Olympics of Northern California
• Host a screening of a disability film such as Crip Camp, Superfest Films, etc.

1. Build a Peace Corner in your classroom or school yard. Create a quiet place for students to cool down and take a moment to regroup when they are feeling overwhelmed.
2. Put up an inclusion bulletin board in your classroom or the school hallway. Hang up pictures of disability heroes or student work on the topic of inclusion.
3. Talk about Inclusion and Inclusive Schools Week during morning circle and include various modes of communication. For example, use sign language, foreign languages, and augmentative communication supports (including photos, pictures, and assistive technology devices, etc.).
4. Read Inclusive books with your students that represent all marginalized students.
5. Extra Credit Assignment: Watch either of the district's virtual events: "Inclusion in San Francisco- From the Birthplace of the Disability Rights Movement to Today" or the Special Olympics Virtual Assembly with Phillip Gonzales and then write a reflection. 
6. Encourage and help students submit work in the SFUSD Online Inclusive Arts Showcase. Checkout the Inclusive Arts Showcase website for inspiration. 
7. Check out the Inclusive Schools Network or 30th Anniversary of the ADA celebration guides for resources and ideas for your school community.
8. Do some of the Champions of Inclusion Activities from the Inclusive Schools Network.
9. Join the “Spread the Word to End the R-Word” Initiative
10. Visit ADA30 in Color - a series of original essays on the past, present, and future of disability rights and justice by disabled people of color. Published and edited by Alice Wong, of the Disability Visibility Project. 

• Check out the SFUSD Inclusion Resource Guide, the Inclusive Schools Network or 30th Anniversary of the ADA celebration guides for resources and ideas for your school.

• Try these disability simulations from Misunderstood Minds or these video activities from AutismSpeaks.

• Join the “Spread the Word to End the R-Word” Initiative

• Read inclusive books that represent all students and families or start a book club using this Inclusive Book List from the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. Check out this list of inclusive picture books and inclusive middle school books available on Hoopla from the SFUSD Librarians. 16 Fiction Books With Disability Representation, Children's Books Honored For Disability Narratives 

• Visit ADA30 in Color or follow the Disability Visibility Project

• Teachers - use these Special Olympics K-12 Lesson Plans or Teaching Tolerance classroom curriculum to build awareness and empathy in your classrooms.

• Family Resources for Talking about Race & Social Justice in the U.S. - SFUSD staff have compiled a brief list of books, articles, videos, websites and other resources for families to explore race and social justice with children of different ages. 

• Classroom Activities: Ask students to think about how their disability gives them "superpowers". Then have them highlight their unique strengths with a ____ is my superpower writing activity. Or discuss characteristics of what makes a good friend then use the prompt: I can be a good friend by ___________.

• Read these Inclusion Stories from A Mighty Girl to inspire smart, courageous and confident girls.

• Champions of Inclusion Activities from the Inclusive Schools Network

• BLM@SCHOOL // DISABILITY JUSTICE RESOURCES SAMPLER! - Curriculum​ - Lesson plans, classroom resources for all ages. A team of people from around the country work collaboratively to curate a variety of classroom resources for every age group. These resources are all free of charge and meant to be shared and used. The goal of these lessons and activities is to challenge racism and oppression and providing students with the vocabulary and tools needed to take action. 

• The Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University studies and showcases disabled people's experiences to revolutionize social views. Through public education, scholarship and cultural events, the Longmore Institute shares disability history and theory, promotes critical thinking, and builds a broader community.

• Disability and Social Emotional Awareness Curriculum and Resources

• Don't be scared to talk about disabilities. Here's what to know and what to say from NPR

• How to talk about disability sensitively and avoid ableist tropes by SHRUTI RAJKUMAR

• What Is Inclusion? By Krystal Jagoo from Very Well Mind

• Disability & Inclusion Resources for Black History Month 

• Intersectionality & Disability by Keri Gray
• Crip Camp - the bay area story behind the ADA
• Superfest Film Festival
• A World Made for Disabilities
• Short Film about Playground Inclusion
• Including Samuel
• It’s Not about Fitting In
• What is Inclusion?
• Inclusion and education - all means all
• Being Different is Normal
• X Ambassadors - Renegades 4 min. music video 
• Wheels - 1 min tire commercial from Canada. 
• Runway of Dreams - NY Fashion Week Disability Fashion Show
• Harry Potter has Dyspraxia and reflections on his education
• Black Stories Matter | YouTube YouTube playlist (collection of YouTube videos grouped by topic) Check out #6 in the playlist.  
• Color Blind or Color Brave? | TED TalksMellody Hobson, Co-CEO & President at Ariel Investments. 14 min watch
• Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? | The AtlanticIbram X. Kendi, Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. 10 min read
• “Unpacking Internalized Racism” | Making the Body a Home Ogorchukwuu. Self-guided course created for BIPOC
• Watch Forget Me Not: Inclusion in the Classroom - a New Documentary on Inclusive Education
• I Got 99 Problems. Palsy Is Just One. TED Talk by Maysoon Zayid
• I'm Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much. TEDx Talk by Stella Young
• "Disability Justice & Access-Centered Pedagogy in the Pandemic"
• "War on the Weak: Eugenics in America"
   

Check out our Inclusion You Tube Channel for more videos!

• SFUSD 2021 Black History Resource Guide
• SFUSD Asian American & Pacific Islander Resource Guide
• SFUSD 2020 Latinx Heritage Resource Guide
• SFUSD 2020 Filipinx History Resource Guide
• SFUSD American Indian Heritage Month Resource
• LGBTQ Family + Gender Diversity Teaching Guide for Elementary Grades
• The Asian Americans With Disabilities Initiative's Resource Guide

• Celebrate African and Indigenous Cultures: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers from Learning for Justice
• Confronting Ableism on the Way to Justice by Keith Jones from Learning for Justice
• White Supremacy Culture + Antidotes - reformatted so it’s easier to read
• Defining Anti-Racism: slides + a short video with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi & Robin D’Angelo
• What White Children Need to Know about Race - online article
• The Differences Between Allies, Accomplices & Co-Conspirators May Surprise You - online article
• To Breathe Together: Co-Conspirators For Decolonial Futures - online article
• We need co-conspirators, not allies': how white Americans can fight racism- online article
• Anti-Racism Resource Guide - online resource guide
• Video: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4804332/user-clip-conspirators - Bettina Love, Ally vs Co-Conspirator
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTvU7uUgjUI - Joy DeGruy, A Trip to the Grocery Store 
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr-mt1P94cQ&t=2s Bree Newsome and James Tyson 
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkZNyRF2Qhc A discussion with Bree Newsome and Jimmy Tyson
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvZZG2BWbgY  Ally, Co-Conspirator and Accomplice
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lVNA4aF1lg To challenge the status quo, find a "co-conspirator”
• Video: Abolitionist Teaching and the Future of our Schools   Min 24-30
• Okun, Tema.  White supremacist culture.
• McIntosh, P. (1988).  White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack.  Retrieved from http://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
• DiAngelo, R. (2011). White fragility. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3(3). http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/download/249/116
• Harris, C. (1993). Whiteness as property, pp. 276-287 
• "DO THE WORK!" with W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz | KQED

Click on the links in the PRIDE Virtual Classroom to find a fun music LGBTQ+ Playlist, LGBTQ Heroes choiceboard, virtual library, and more!

Embrace Diversity to Build Safer, More Inclusive Communities 

“Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.”    
                                                 —bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

To uplift Transgender Awareness Week, we highlight these resources that emphasize why inclusive education is imperative and how the power of LGBTQ+ visibility fosters positive spaces of understanding and empathy where all students feel visible and accepted.

Visibility is Power by Elementary educator Skye Tooley emphasizes the power of LGBTQ+ visibility in fostering positive spaces of understanding and empathy where all students feel visible and accepted. From Learning for Justice.

Inclusive Education Benefits All Children by Melanie Willingham-Jaggers and the GLSEN Team. In confronting attacks on LGBTQ+ students’ rights to representation and safety in public education, we hold firm to creating inclusive and affirming learning spaces. From Learning for Justice

Advocating for LGBTQ Students with Disabilities - a guide for educators and parents/guardians on supporting LGBTQ students with an IEP or 504 plan

The Trevor Project - 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health

Disability Voices

“Disability is not a brave struggle or courage in the face of adversity. Disability is an art. It is an ingenious way to live.”
-Neil Marcus, actor/playwright

“Disability must be considered within an intersectional framework because it cuts across political, social, and cultural narratives and identities. An intersectional lens challenges the historically white, cisgender, heterosexual understanding of disability to more accurately reflect the narratives as told by lived experiences of disabled people.”
-Sandy Ho, community organizer

“As ‘invisibles’, our history is hidden from us, our heroes buried in the pages, unnamed, unrecognized. Disability culture is about naming, about recognizing.”
-Cheryl Marie Wade, “Disability Culture Rap”

“Staying alive is a lot of work for a disabled person in an ableist society.”
-Alice Wong, editor; Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century

“Overthinking is one enemy of disability etiquette, but so is making assumptions about what a person wants and needs. Of course, individuals with disabilities want to be treated like everyone else, but when we say that, we don’t mean “treat every person exactly the same. We mean recognize our humanity and meet us where we are at.
-Kyle Khachadurian, cohost, The Accessible Stall podcast

The Heumann Perspective

The Accessible Stall

"Ed Roberts and the Independent Living Movement," from Stuff You Missed in History Class

The Disabled Standard (produced by former NPR intern Shruti Rajkumar)