Inclusion Done Right: Setting up shared instruction for success in an ‘International Baccalaureate for All’ program The Clinton School
Jonathan Levin • Cahn Fellow 2021
The Clinton School, is a 6-12 New York City public school that was designed and built as an “International Baccalaureate for All” program, meaning that all students are intended to take all of their 11th and 12th grade courses as IB students in one of the most prestigious and rigorous international curricular frameworks in the world. The school also has a historical commitment to ensuring that a variety of students with disabilities are supported in the program, and was one of the first schools to support co-teaching in the District. In 2021-22, just before the start of the school year, the school was directed to begin a shared instructed program that would fully mainstream a small number of District 75 students with more significant disabilities. Implementing a program with little notice meant there were many missed opportunities to build a robust inclusion program. The Cahn Project gave us opportunities to consider how we could thoughtfully implement the second cohort of inclusion students in 2022-23 and “do inclusion right.”
Our theory of action was that a commitment to equity means expanding our inclusion program. Building an inclusion program would require a strong partnership between our school and P94, the District 75 counterpart or “home school.” Done right, an inclusion program can help us grow as individuals, as a school and build a stronger Clinton.
