Domain 5: Community-Referenced Curriculum and Programs
5.1 Use or share instructional resources addressing independent living.
5.2 Use or share instructional resources addressing community participation (e.g., transportation, recreation, services).
5.3 Use or share instructional resources addressing healthy social relationships.
5.4 Use or share instructional resources addressing self-advocacy and self-determination.
5.5 Provide or facilitate instruction in self-advocacy and self-determination skills.
5.6 Support student self-advocacy and within the transition planning process.
5.7 Collaborate with school and community programs to foster self-advocacy.
At KIPP Austin Collegiate, there are individualized curriculum and placement options offered to students with disabilities. As Bouck (2012) notes, "In other words, curriculum decision making at the secondary level should reflect each individual student’s desired post-school outcomes and subsequent environments"(p. 1183). Students with disabilities can choose from full inclusion general education course options, the GAIN curriculum program setting, or a combination of GAIN coursework and participation in general education courses with accommodations and modifications. A majority of students receiving special education are receiving a high school diploma with minimum graduation requirements while some have chosen a high school diploma option with an endorsement. All students at KIPP Austin Collegiate graduate from high school and matriculate to a higher education institution.
The GAIN setting is for students with moderate to severe disabilities who access general education standards through alternate course work and who need more support gaining transition related skills. Academic curriculum offered to these students originates from Unique Learning Systems with supplemental materials provided. GAIN 101, 201, 301, and 401 is offered as a non-credit bearing course that helps students develop transition related skills through work-based learning on campus and instruction on topics once per week that follows a scope and sequence on a variety of topics including sex education, relationship building, social-emotional learning, and community based learning opportunities. Transition skills are also weaved into the GAIN curriculum to address transition skills. For example, in government, students learn about citizenship, guardianship, and rights. The accompanying document shows how the GAIN coursework supports student in gaining academic and functional skills.
The artifacts in the gallery demonstrate how the GAIN program supports students gain access to community resources through the curriculum and programming offered.
Unique Learning System
There has been debate about what type of curriculum students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities should learn from- one that focuses on life skills, one with academic skills or a combination of both. Curriculum choice overall did not have any positive relationship in predicting post-school outcomes.
While curriculum choice may not have any correlation to post-school outcomes, there is still a need to individually examine student’s post-school goals so that curriculum choice and setting supports these goals (Bouck 2012).
While Unique Learning Systems is a program designed for self-contained settings to be used as an alternate curriculum, educators need to exercise judgement about what to teach and how to supplement a program. One program or curriculum resource cannot be relied on to teach critical academic skills and transition skills. NTACT is one resource for educators to examine evidence based and research based practices to support instruction. Educators need to have a critical eye and determine the effectiveness of curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners (Test, Fowler, Richter, White, Mazzotti, Walker, & Kortering, 2009). Students need a variety of experiences and ways to interact with learning.
For the GAIN program, ULS was able to provide a framework and resource for curriculum development. It has many tools that could support transition planning or tie functional skills into academic learning. ULS resources are embedded in the following gallery.
Competencies addressed: 5.1-5.6
Independent Living
Researchers have found that Centers for Independent Living (CILs) provide an array of transition-related supports, including job training and coaching, benefits advocacy, transportation training, and training to empower youth and promote self-determination.
While in the past CILs and the education system may have had differing philosophies, IDEA 2004 has helped CILs and educators work together to plan for transition and provide needed services. CILs promote self-determination because they are able to offer supports and training to facilitate inclusion in the community and independent living skills (Wehmeyer & Gragoudas, 2004).
ARCIL (A Resource Center for Independent Living) is located less than a mile from the KIPP Austin Collegiate Campus and has the potetnial to become an invaluable partner as the GAIN program expands to include 18+ programming for students. ARCIL offers recreation opportunities, opportunities to learn about rights and advocacy and independent living skills classes in topics such as cooking and home management.
The GAIN 101 courses provide students with opportunities to develop independent living skills such as cooking, identifying independent living goals and needs, and time management skills.
ULS resource examples: cooking, schedules and times
Competencies addressed: 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7
Student Created Transition Presentation
The student made power point above is one way students can demonstrate self-determination in transition planning and in their meeting. Students also have something to refer to when speaking in their transition meetings and are more likely to advocate for their preferences, interests, and needs. This format is good for students who have never been asked to present in a meeting before, for students who are shy, and for students with limited communication skills. This student was given a template with headings as well as access to her transition assessments that allowed her to identify her preferences, interests and needs. She was able to find her pictures and design her slides. She worked with her case manager to explore higher education programs that would help her meet her post-secondary education and career goals. She has a desire to go to a community college to gain skills to either work in a day care or as a teacher's assistant. The STEPS program at ACC helps students with moderate disabilities develop skills and train for a desired career. The needs section also helped her transition team identify how the 18+ program can support her needs in the community to gain independent living skills. While this student is choosing to live with her Mom, she wanted to develop skills so she could help cook and clean at home to take on more adult responsibilities.
Competencies addressed: 5.6
Self Advocacy
There are varying definitions about what self-advocacy is. The self-advocacy conceptual framework can be used as a tool for teachers to select the most appropriate components of self-advocacy based on student needs. The four components of the framework are: knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership (Test, Fowler, Wood, Brewer, Eddy, 2005). GAIN offers students opportunities to develop self-advocacy skills as part of the GAIN 101 courses as well as integration in the academic curriculum. For example when students take government, a representative from Disability Rights Texas was invited to the class to educate students about their rights and how they can advocate for themselves. Students also completed the "Choices: Who Is Making Them?" questionnaire (see reference below) to help students recognize that self-advocacy and self determination is part of every day life. This helps students see that when they are faced with making a choice, they have the power to control their lives by making choices.
Additional Resources:
ULS: Choices...Who Is Making Them?
How Am I Doing Today?
ARCIL
Competencies addressed: 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Community Participation
Community Based Instruction is an instructional tool that helps students apply their learning through experiences in the community. Community Based Instruction has been found to have moderate levels of evidence to support its effectiveness (Test, Fowler, Richter, White, Mazotti, Walker, Kohler, & Kortering, 2012). In the GAIN program, students have the opportunity to participate in a community based experience once per quarter for a total of four times per year. Past CBI experiences have included a tour of higher education institutions- Austin Community College and University of Texas, grocery shopping, taking the bus to a community pool, restaurants, movies, and shopping. These experiences allow student to practice budgeting skills, plan a leisure activity, gain information about interests and preferences, practice social skills, and make plans for how to use transportation.
Students have had the opportunity to learn about Cap Metro's Travel Training Program when a representative was invited to present about the program. This partnership allowed the school and Cap Metro to work together to improve services and collaborate by providing feedback about how to differentiate the presentation, explore potential future workshops and learning opportunities for students, and expand students' understanding of how they can navigate the community. Since the presentation, students and staff have utilized the transportation system when planning Community Based Instruction which decreased costs for off campus trips and gave students an opportunity to plan a trip, pay for their bus fare, and explore their community. We also have travel training included in student's transition plans when applicable.
Competencies addressed: 5.1, 5.2
Healthy Relationships
There is a correlation between positive relationships and self-determination because individuals use self-determination skills to increase their self-awareness to determine who they want to develop relationships with. We develop relationships based on our own preferences and interests, our ability to communicate with others and resolve conflicts. Students should be given regular opportunities to practice social and communication skills to develop positive relationships.Teachers can provide an environment in which positive relationships are established when they provide opportunities for students to increase their self-awareness, provide direct instruction in social competencies, give opportunities for youth to interact with and benefit from positive role models, nurture warm and supportive teacher–student relationships, and learn about and utilize the classroom peer ecology (Field & Hoffman 2012).
Part of developing healthy relationships with others also involves providing information and education about sexual health and relationships. Educators and parents should recognize that students with disabilities will develop sexually and should have information about how to engage in healthy relationships with others to fulfill their needs. Wolfe and Blanchett write, “Access to complete and accurate sexuality related information is pivotal to students with disabilities; as with all students, sexuality education can help them enjoy healthy and fulfilling sexual lives” (Boehning 2006). Students in the GAIN program have the option to participate in sexual education offered in the general education classroom and/or participate in sex education offered through the GAIN 101 curriculum. Lessons used in GAIN are from the "Differing Abilities" through teachingsexualhealth.ca.
ULS curriculum examples: Everyday communication
Friends and Co-Workers
Competencies addressed: 5.3, 5.4, 5.5