Center on Inclusion Mission
Improve the quality of care and education available to all young children and their families in order to promote optimal development and full inclusion in their family, community and society through:
- Research, development and demonstration of effective practices and innovative models of care and education.
- Professional development, technical assistance and dissemination of effective practices and innovative models of service to practitioners in the fields of Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education.
- Systems change and policy development in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education that creates access to quality service ad promotes positive outcomes for young children and families at the local, state and national level.
What is early childhood inclusion?
Oregon Value Statement: Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of all children, regardless of abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities. Natural settings are those in which the child would spend time had he or she not had a disability. These settings include, but are not limited to: Home, preschools, nursery schools, Head Start programs, kindergartens, neighborhood school classrooms, childcare, places of worship, recreational (such as community playgrounds and community events) and other settings that all children and families enjoy.
Adopted from the DEC/NAEYC Joint Position Statement on Inclusion by the Oregon's Early Childhood Inclusion Collaborative Steering Committee on March 28, 2008.
Why early childhood inclusion?
1. It is the LAW. Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) & IDEA (2004)
2. Research supporting inclusion shows that children with and without disabilities benefit from being in an inclusive setting.
3. Including children in natural settings in their communities is the right thing to do.
What might it look like?
An inclusive setting has children with and without disabilities learning together in a quality preschool environment. The setting incorporates developmentally appropriate practices along with support for general education staff to enable them to meet the needs and educational goals of children receiving services.
Coming soon...stories from and about children in inclusive settings.
Send us your story. If you or a family member with a disability has attended an inclusive preschool, send your story to: Tom Udell