Sensory Smart Classroom.
(Whitney Bennett-Clear, Mathew Bruno, Sara Thompson & Kathy Roberts)
It is not uncommon to hear someone talk about being overstimulated. Have you ever considered that there may be an amount of stimulation that is just right? The team at Lincoln Middle School did just that. School social worker, Whitney Bennett-Clear saw a sensory need that was not being met, so she and Integrated Service teachers Sara Thompson and Mathew Bruno took on the challenge. Their goal was the integration of sensory tools within their classroom and out in student’s general education classrooms.
To make their dream a reality the team applied for a Supporting Partnerships in Innovative Education or SPIE Grant. SPIE Grants are designed for teachers to include innovative teaching materials for creative and inventive learning. The process was a true collaboration. Parent Stephanie Haynes worked closely with grant coordinator Stacy Poncelow to compose the grant with the Lincoln Middle School staffers. The group was awarded $2,346.92 with which they were able to purchase standing work desks, rocking chairs, balance stools, fidgets, light minimizing tools, scented oils, weighted blankets and more.
The philosophy behind the sensory smart classroom incorporates our need for sensory stimulation and depression. Think about it, there are times that we may be sluggish and think to have a cup of coffee or bounce a foot while concentrating. The purpose of these aids are to ramp-up energy or decrease sensory stimulation in order to focus. A target group of students, are working toward being able to identify and facilitate these needs. Mr. Bruno, Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Bennett-Clear have streamlined the use of socially appropriate tools for students. The goal is for students to identify what they need to be successful and access it independently. Does someone feel that rocking would allow them to focus on the task at hand? Grab a rocking chair. Does someone feel that holding and manipulating something pliable would help them relax? Grab a fidget. The only way this is possible is if they are available. That was the vision for the Lincoln Middle School staff.
By providing tools, students are able to accommodate their sensory needs, in return the student agrees to a contract of sorts in which they agree to use them appropriately and responsibly. So what are their favorite sensory tools? Mr. Bruno likes the standing desk, Mrs. Bennett-Clear likes the rocking chairs, as do the students and Mrs. Thompson likes a firm desk top fidget.
Congratulations Sara Thompson, Mathew Bruno and Whitney Bennet-Clear on your 2014 SPIE Grant.
Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521
also known as “the real world”. Here is the thing, the real world looks different for different people. Sometimes it leads to continued education, sometimes vocational work, other times it can be entrepreneurial work. As educators it is our responsibility to help guide students to where they can be most successful.
The ACE Supported Employment program has wonderful success stories of students finding, keeping and loving employment positions. Often, these positions continue after the students formal education with Poudre School District has concluded. Even with great success stories, there was a piece of the puzzle missing. There needed to be a place for students who were not emotionally prepared for work in the community. Sarah Belleau, Director of Integrated Services, challenged Mr. Woodruff and his team to create an environment within the safety of Poudre School District where students could explore what it is like to be self-employed, with a real monetary product. This environment would allow students with more significant needs to be in charge of all of the ins and outs of running a business including time and money management, ordering, roasting, grinding, bagging, labeling and distributing an end product – coffee!
O’Dea Core Knowledge, like most schools, is a school full of smart boards. However there were a few classrooms who were hanging out in the dark ages of 1990 with chalkboard, whiteboards and books.
Epson- M600, 2 projection units and installation. The interactive whiteboards are light sensory vs touch sensory which allows for accessibility for those with decreased fine motor skill strength. It is a multi-touch unit which can accommodate two users simultaneously.
Integrated Services Poudre School District 