By Eileen Dachnowicz
“Have you ever had a bad feeling about going to a new school? Well, it’s different when you walk into Allen Creek. You don’t have to fit into the school; the school fits into you.”
—Nate, Fifth Grader, Allen Creek Elementary School
Although Nate is just in fifth grade at Allen Creek Elementary (grades K–5) in Rochester, New York, he already has the wisdom of a venerable sage. Nate colorfully captures his school’s special talent for welcoming all students into its family. Some 800 miles to the west, Leon Cluck, a speech pathologist at Northview High School (grades 9–12) in Florissant, Missouri, says the same thing but in more formal language: “At Northview the environment is built to the students’ needs, rather than trying to fit the students to the environment.”
What is interesting is that the two schools are so different. Allen Creek, located in the prestigious Pittsford Central School District in upper New York State, is a local elementary school with a special needs population of 5 percent. At Northview, on the other hand, every student requires special education services. And yet both schools aptly deal with the thorny issue of how to make every child feel special and included.
What is the magic that occurs at these schools? We all know through the media how student alienation has brought about drastic consequences that run the gamut from dropping out of school, joining gangs, or exacting mass revenge, to the self-destructive patterns shown in truancy, depression, and suicide. Too often, the term “inclusion” is construed to mean following the letter of the law by providing services for special needs students. But the issue is much larger than that. All students yearn to feel accepted into a close-knit and caring family. The question is, How do these schools do it? Find out in the Schools of Character magazine (free download).
