Temple Grandin Charter

“Where all students are exceptional and where learning differences are

honored”

Temple Grandin • Temple Grandin (born August

29, 1947) is an American doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. As a person with high-functioning autism, Grandin is also widely noted for her work in autism advocacy.

• Grandin is listed in the 2010 Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in the category “Heroes”.

"I am different, not less. "

Overview • Mission • Faculty • Population • Day in life • Approach • Programs • Curriculum • Universal Design • Parent participation • Federal and state regulations

Mission Statement • Our mission is to provide a learning

environment where all students feel welcome and are given the best possible instruction. The secondary purpose is to provide a template for other schools to emulate. When we show that our style of inclusive education benefits both "exceptional" and “typical" students, we can spark a bigger change in the education community at large.

Faculty Members • Head of School

– In charge of the administrative functions, fundraises

• Learning Facilitators – They teach the main curriculum through project based learning and

incorporate universal design. They also have a teacher’s aide and parent volunteers to assist learning.

• Learning assistants – They assist students with learning differences in the classroom and

help learning facilitators adapt the curriculum to accommodate all students. They incorporate the developmental model in their therapeutic approaches.

• Reading Specialists – They help students develop reading fluency, comprehension, self-

efficacy, and love for reading.

• Administrative Staff

Population • Pre-k to 12th grade

– Students remain in the same clusters for two years or more and remain with the same learning facilitator for two or more years.

• Charter – Majority of funding comes from school boards, but we

also receive private donations.

• Fifty percent of the student body have learning differences, and fifty percent are neurotypical

• 60 students per age group (up to 15 students per classroom)

Typical Day at Temple Grandin Charter • Academics

• Movement

• Music

• Art

• Personalized time

• Recreational activities

• Field trips

Approach • Developmental model

– We favor the developmental model over the medical model because we believe that students do not need to be “fixed”, rather we need to design our curriculum to be accessible to all students and nurture all kinds of learning.

• Student-centered – We believe that students should be in charge of their

own learning. Teachers are guides to students’ learning. To enhance students’ abstract reasoning through experiential learning.

Programs • Developmental screenings

– Learning assistants assess students on reading, speech, hearing, and other areas to help us best develop a profile of each student’s ways of learning.

• Assessment and support services – All relevant learning facilitators write weekly narrative reports

for students to help parents see progress and identify any support that child’s learning style.

• Dynamic curriculum – Foster an engaging environment that respects and capitalizes

students’ learning.

• Holistic learning – Teaching compassion, respect, and multiple layers of meaning.

Curriculum

• Practical academics

• Vocational

• Life skills

• Metacognition

Universal Design • Universally designed learning

• Architecture

• Learning Devices/technology

• We do not support ableism: we don’t believe in “fixing” students with learning differences. We believe in incorporating universal design into our curriculum to guide all students in their learning.

Parent Participation • Three student-parent-teacher conferences a

year. Students will lead the conferences.

• Weekly narrative progress reports for parents

• Required forty hours/year of parent involvement in classroom

Federal & State Regulations • IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.

– IEP: Each public school child who receives special education and related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.

– LRE: The IDEA includes two fundamental requirements: that the child will receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

– FAPE: The Section 504 regulation requires a school district to provide a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) to each qualified person with a disability who is in the school district’s jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the person’s disability.

– Child Find: Child Find is a component of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth to 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services.

• Georgia Standards

Q &A