An Inspiring, Inclusive Learning Community at Ballenas Secondary

Last week, I had the pleasure of my first visit to the adapted p.e./leisure studies elective at Ballenas Secondary School in Parksville, BC  last week.  It instantly became my new favorite learning space to visit in our district.

This inclusive environment consists of 10 life skills students- some of whom are non-verbal, all of whom are significantly impacted cognitively, 10 of their neuro-typical peers, a handful of Educational Assistants., and their fabulous PE teacher, Sherri McKee.    This semester, the week alternates between a PE block one day, and some kind of community activity-  work experience, or learning to ride a bus, or doing a service project of some sort, on the other.  Next semester, it will alternate between p.e. and a shop class.  It is a new course that was initiated by the elective teachers last spring, as they went looking for environments and ways to include more students in their classrooms in meaningful ways.

Upon entering the room, I was greeted with huge smiles by the peer leaders and life skills students alike.  The gymnastics circuit consisted of mats on the floor,  rubber mat “stepping stones”, benches for balancing on, and a table to commando-crawl under.  Students were happily dancing to music, rolling along the mats, assisting each other with walking forwards and backwards on the benches.  When the teacher pulled the group into a circle, the EAs stood back to allow the kids space in the group-  and EVERYONE, (I really mean everyone)-  sat down in the circle, watched the demonstration, clapped when peers demonstrated the skills.  A number of students enthusiastically leapt to the front when asked to assist.  I’ve known some of these students for years, and I’ve never seen some of them head to a teacher-directed activity without being led there by an adult.

  

One of these students is a young man with Down’s Syndrome.  He had arrived in a stroller accompanied by the two EAs for safety reasons.  As soon as he crossed the threshold of the doorway, he unbuckled,  went straight to his partner and copied the warm-up stretch.  One of his EAs left, the other stood a ways back from the group.   Another young woman, who is hearing impaired and significantly impacted by her sensory sensitivities, has seldom joined activities with peers in classrooms, dropped right to hands and knees to follow a friend crawling on the circuit under the table.   She emerged seconds later with a huge grin on her face.
 

I was also thrilled to see a young man who is tremendously anxious when there are others in his physical space head over to a peer who was moving to music, smile at him, and join in the dance.  A couple of grade 11, six-foot-plus boys, leapt up to hold the hands of their buddies, as they worked to balance on a bench, walk gingerly backwards on it.  Every minute or so, there would be a big cheer,  as their partners successfully jumped on the mat at the end.  Once I’d worked through holding back the tears in my eyes,  I took some pictures so I’d be able to share my excitement.

Jane Reynolds, Vice Principal at the school, tells me that she’s seen the benefits of this class spill into other environments – she’s heard the peer leaders planning in the hallway at lunch, as they problem-solve to help peers engage even more successfully in the class.  She sees students who have never spent time together before seek each other out to “hang out” and eat together at lunch time.   These students are not spending time together because they have been assigned to a block of electives together.  They are developing genuine, deep connections with one another. 

At Ballenas Secondary School, this inclusive learning community is a beautiful and inspiring example of what can happen when kids and adults alike understand that They Are All Our Kids.