Creating Classroom Strategies that Benefit All 

By Kathryn Bauman-Hill, Early Childhood and Elementary Head

Why is inclusion important? This question is considered carefully at Capitol Hill Day School in our interactions with students and in our adult conversations. Expanding an educator’s toolbox with inclusive practices is one of our professional development goals as a school. The shape this goal takes varies, with personal growth in monthly seminars on diversity and activism as well as professional growth in cross-school conversations at staff meetings. This year, the Early Childhood and Elementary Divisions have taken a deep dive into inclusiveness by investigating ableism and how it impacts the support we create for students. 

As we look at addressing the various types of learners within our school, several factors are consistently considered as teachers plan their day: What do all children need to be successful? Are there certain students who might benefit from additional interventions in the classroom? In what ways can we continue to learn and grow in differentiating instruction and daily practices for our students?

Environmental Support

Each month, teachers reflect on which support strategies are used universally within their full class, and then think carefully about how individual students benefit from comprehensive strategies. All EC and Elementary classrooms utilize visuals and review schedules regularly—something that benefits all students. For students who might need extra support throughout the day, incorporating additional layers of visual, verbal, and tactile cues in the classroom can help set students up for success. Breaking down classroom routines into micro steps, implementing social stories, and working with students on forming habits all provide an extra layer of support for students who might need it, which in turn helps to create a positive experience for all children within their classroom environment.

Emotional Support

This fall, EC and Elementary teachers further unpacked the importance of developing an emotionally safe place to learn. As part of this examination, teachers spent time understanding personal biases such as confirmation bias, similarity bias, and experience bias. This analysis looked critically at what impacts teachers’ individual thinking in the classroom. Inside their classrooms, teachers spent time identifying what seems to prompt both moments of calm connection with students and, on the other side, moments of frustration. Understanding the causes of certain emotions can help to broaden the window of tolerance within the class. Additionally, teachers investigated how anxiety can manifest itself in students to better understand its potential impact on learning. Exploring metacognition, the recognition of one’s own thought process, allows students to self-monitor throughout the day—a crucial step in learning how to manage anxiety. 

Another tool for creating an emotionally safe environment is intentionally focusing on positive attributes that students bring into the classroom through a strengths-based approach. The Neurodiverse Academy highlights the phrase “What’s strong with you?” rather than “What’s wrong with you?” Over the last six months, teachers have used “What’s strong with you?” as a focus question while diving into the strengths and supports of students. Teachers have continued to examine misconceptions of diverse learners, add in early interventions for students who benefit from them, and teach student advocacy to all, creating emotional and academic gains for the full class. 

By building a toolbox for supporting different learning styles, teachers can implement interventions and move past the hurdles that ableism creates in a school environment. This process aligns with our mission that children are known and nurtured at Capitol Hill Day School and helps to build an intentionally diverse, inclusive community.