2024 RISE Conference

One of the largest incoming classes of kindergarteners with disabilities will be walking into our classrooms this August - the same classrooms that are implementing play-based learning.

Play based learning is essential for kindergarteners to build real-world social skills, learn how to transition, and access a more developmentally appropriate curriculum. Play-based learning ALIGNS with NCELI and many IEP goals. However, for students with developmental delays and disabilities, there are additional challenges beyond what a typically-developing kindergartener experiences. Teachers need strategies to support data collection and assessment. Students need explicit social-emotional instruction, strategies, and proficiency in our play centers. So, how do we get there?

In this session, we will dive into the realities of these disabilities in our kindergarteners academics while sharing the tools and resources we have to best serve them. Attendees will be given opportunities to ENGAGE with and address misconceptions about visual supports, reinforcement systems, sensory tools, developmentally appropriate language, social stories and the importance of equity in the classroom culture. We will share our own differing experiences in our respective fields on how to practically implement these strategies and effectively collaborate across school teams to get students holistically supported. Attendees will then be encouraged to reflect on challenges in their own classrooms and leave with more tools in their toolboxes to make their classrooms and data collection more accessible.

These strategies will help teachers create an equitable and inclusive classroom, especially for one of our most impressionable populations, ready to ignite the minds of all students.

Learn how to best include ALL students in the educational environment. Whether you’re a general education teacher, an EC teacher, administrator, or a related service provider, this session will provide you with practical ideas and resources to help you implement evidence-based strategies to support and understand students with disabilities and reduce misinformation surrounding students with disabilities. By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify at least 3 useful strategies to incorporate into their everyday teaching and planning to include and support children with exceptionalities to ensure they are being provided the most effective and inclusive education possible. Learn about EC-specific jargon, the different types of EC classrooms in Cabarrus County, the spectrum of EC services available, and how to provide more context into the lives of students with disabilities.