The Preschool Inclusion Toolbox: How to Build and Lead a High-Quality Program

by Erin E. Barton, Barbara J. Smith, Christina L. Salisbury (Foreword by)

Overview

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Inclusion is clearly related to better outcomes for young children—but reports from the US Department of Education show the practice has grown by just 5% over the past 27 years. This is the how-to book preschool administrators, school district leaders, child care directors, and faculty need to step up the progress of early childhood inclusion through big-picture, systems-level change.

Shaped by feedback from a nationwide survey of IDEA Part B Preschool Coordinators and local school district leaders who shared their real-life inclusion challenges, this is your comprehensive toolbox of problem-solving tips, evidence-based practices, and practical checklists and handouts. You'll learn how to overcome the challenges to a high-quality inclusive preschool program, and you'll create a solid action plan for building and maintaining a successful program where all children learn and grow together.

GET THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO:

• solve common challenges to inclusion through new policies and procedures
• establish a strong inclusion team to make collaborative decisions
• implement an action plan for inclusion—and measure its effects
• increase access, participation, and supports for children with disabilities
• help teachers use evidence-based practices like RTI and differentiated instruction
• develop effective teacher professional development practices
• make sound decisions about placement for each individual child

PRACTICAL MATERIALS:Reproducible planning forms and tools;more than 100 PowerPoint slides to help structure professional development events; tips and lessons from effective school reform efforts across the country; application and reflection questions for independent study and coursework.

A featured book in our Successful Early Childhood Inclusion Kit!

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781598576672
Publisher:	Brookes, Paul H. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/19/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Sales rank:	133,066
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Erin E. Barton, Ph.D., BCBA-D, teaches courses in Early Childhood Special Education on evidence-based assessment and intervention practices for young children with disabilities and their families and single case research design. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with children and families in homes, schools, and clinics. Her research interests include early intervention practices for young children with or at–risk for disabilities in natural settings and professional development with early childhood practitioners. She directs research projects related to evidence–based practices for young children and professional development systems. Dr. Barton serves on several editorial boards and is an active scholar with over 30 publications in major journals and multiple chapters related to early intervention for young children with disabilities.

Dr. Smith received her master's degree in early childhood special education and doctorate in special education and public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her areas of interest include early childhood special education/early intervention policies, systems and program development; leadership and collaboration; and the scaling up of evidence-based practices.

Dr. Smith has held early childhood and early childhood special education positions for the past thirty five years including early childhood teacher, Executive Director of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children; Policy Specialist, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC); and Program Specialist, Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education. She has served as a consultant on state and national early childhood policy, expert witness in right to treatment litigation, prepared and delivered legislative testimony to the Congress as well as state legislatures, and has worked with many parent and professional groups in their state policy efforts.

In an effort to help shape quality inclusive early childhood environments for all children, including those with special needs, she has worked closely for many years with NAEYC and other early childhood leadership organizations including serving on the NAEYC Commission to develop the current program accreditation criteria. Dr. Smith has authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 15 books and chapters one of which was the first book for administrators on preschool inclusion: The Administrator's Policy Handbook for Preschool Mainstreaming (1993). She also chaired the most recent effort to establish the DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education to help guide the field in improving services for young children with special needs, their families and those who work with them.

She is currently Co-Principal Investigator of an OSEP funded doctoral program at UCD in early intervention and early childhood special education policy and collaborative leadership, and is involved in the OSEP funded national Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA). She is the recipient of several awards and honors.

Jaclyn (Jackie) D. Joseph, MSW, BCBA, is project coordinator for the randomized controlled trial of Prevent Teach Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) at the Positive Early Learning Experiences (PELE) Center of the University of Colorado, Denver. She has co-authored articles and book chapters and conducted dozens of training sessions and workshops on PTR-YC. Prior to working at the PELE Center, Jackie was primarily involved with supporting families of young children with disabilities. Jackie's professional and research interests include evidence-based interventions for reducing the challenging behaviors and improving the social-emotional competence of young children in home settings and in early education and care classrooms.

Dr. Steed has more than 15 years of experience working with young children with disabilities and their families in preschool, kindergarten, and home-based settings. She is currently Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Early Childhood Special Education program in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Georgia State University. Dr. Steed is affiliated faculty in the Center for Leadership in Disability at the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Georgia State University and a faculty partner for their Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program.

She is also a member of Georgia's Early Childhood Comprehensive System (ECCS), Georgia Quest for Quality Inclusion, and the Metro Atlanta Preschool Consortium, where she works in collaboration with Georgia's early childhood special educators, administrators, and policy makers. Dr. Steed has been the principal investigator on several research projects focusing on building partnerships with preschool teachers to prevent young children's development of challenging behaviors. She is on the editorial board of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, and her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences.

Lois M. Pribble, Ph.D., is Lecturer and Research Associate in the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) Program at the University of Oregon. She teaches methods and applications courses in EI/ECSE with a focus on intervention in naturalistic and inclusive settings. Her research interests include social-emotional assessment and interventions for young children, coaching caregivers and practitioners, and EI/ECSE personnel preparation. Prior to becoming a university instructor, Dr. Pribble was an EI/ECSE classroom teacher, consultant, supervisor, and Child Find screener for over 15 years.

Read an Excerpt

Read an excerpt
What is quality inclusion?

Table of Contents

About the Downloads
About the Authors
About the Contributors
Foreword
Dedication

IntroductionAppendix Ia: Fact Sheet of Research on Preschool Inclusion
Appedix Ib: IDEA Provisions Supporting Preschool Inclusion
Appendix Ic: NAEYC/DEC Inclusion Position Statement
Appendix Id: Lifelong Experiences with Inclusion: A Personal Story
Section I: Laying the Groundwork for Preschool Inclusion

1. What is Quality Inclusion?
Erin E. Barton and Jaclyn D. Joseph

2. Preschool Inclusion Challenges and Solutions
Barbara J. Smith, Erin E. Barton, and Alissa Rausch

3. Creating Policies and Procedures that Support Preschool Inclusion
Barbara J. Smith, Elizabeth A. Steed, and Jaclyn D. JosephAppendix 3a: Spotlight on Discourse, Values, and Professional Ethics
Appendix 3b: Sample of an Issue Brief
Appendix 3c: Template of an Issue Brief
Appendix 3d: Example Inclusion Research Brief
Section II: Evidence-based Practices that Support Preschool Inclusion

4. Administrative Support: Effective Professional Development for High-Quality Preschool Inclusion
Elizabeth A. Steed and Barbara J. Smith

5. Evidence-Based Practices for Successful Inclusion
Erin E. Barton, Lois M. Pribble, and Jaclyn D. Joseph

Section III: Making Preschool Inclusion Happen

6. Measuring the Quality of Inclusive Classrooms
Ching-I Chen, Erin E. Barton, & Geneva J. Hallett

7. Making Individualized Child Placement Decisions
Erin E. Barton, Debbie Cate, Katy McCullough, & Geneva J. Hallett

8. Bringing It All Together
Erin E. Barton
References

Resources

Index

Editorial Reviews

“Just what school districts need to provide their early childhood staff members with both the research that supports inclusion as well as specific ways to plan for and implement inclusive practices in their programs.

Joan Lieber

“Provides state and local leaders with a comprehensive package of tools needed to successfully promote the inclusion of preschool children with disabilities.

Ruth Littlefield

"The Preschool Inclusion Toolbox provides a fine how-to book for preschool administrators, child care directors, and staff, discussing how to chart and guide the process of early childhood inclusion through wide changes of school systems and approaches to preschool. No preschool leader should be without this specific, powerful guide."

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