Give Back Featurette- Disability Access Matters!

Classers, lovely to have you back!

[gif: bouncing bunny captioned, “Hello”]

In this post, we’re going to start taking a look at projects. As you recall from our earliest posts, we will initially be focusing on projects based in New York and New Jersey. As we blog more, we’ll then diversify our focus on outreach for classrooms and projects in other locations across the US.

In Our New York Quick Facts post, we learned that about 17% of all students enrolled in K-12 have disabilities. In an article reported by the NYDailyNews in 2018, more than 80% of schools in New York City are inaccessible to students with disabilities and special needs. In some districts, like District 16 of Bed Stuy, not one school is fully accessible. Schools fail to provide accessible buildings and classrooms, bathrooms, playgrounds/play areas, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and accessibility resources such as ramps, elevators, accessibility signage, closed captioning and sign language interpretation tools, proper PA systems, wide doorways, large print materials, Braille, and/or raised lettering signs/labels.

[source: https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/0956/images/landscape_page1_9symbols_419x233.gif]

This is a huge barrier for students, not just in infrastructural accessibility, but also a barrier to the learning experience. This often results in children with disabilities being denied many of the experiences that other kids are afforded through the privilege of being able-bodied. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has paved ways to help minimize, if not eliminate, situations and circumstances that prevent disabled individuals from having equal access to services and ways of life. Still, many public schools remain physically inaccessible to disabled students, and moreover, education curriculums fail to make accommodations for students with learning and cognitive disabilities. This issue is even grander in neighborhoods and districts where economic and racial disparities are highly evident.

To this degree, we want to start of “Give Back” feature with a project that centers students with disabilities and special needs here in New York. Here are some quick facts about the project.

Teacher: Mrs. Yandoli

Location: PS (Public School) 177K; Brooklyn, NY

Objective: Engaging Children with Disabilities

Summary: My class is filled with students who love to learn! My students are in a specialized classroom with a student-teacher ratio of 12-1-1. My students are classified as autistic emotionally disturbed, Down syndrome and learned disabled. There are many different types of learners in my room such as visual, audio and tactile. Each of them benefits from the use of a tablet. I try to incorporate the use of technology in each of my lessons because it benefits all of my different learners. Whether it’s a song or musical video to catch their eye (or ear) or an interactive game to where they have to use their body and mind. The tablet can help my class keep engaged and become strong learners.

Project Deadline: Saturday, December 21, 2019.

Remaining Funds Needed: $147 [project can be funded with a donation of $74 since all project donations are being matched by an anonymous donor]

Donate now!

In addition, here are a few quick links to other fundraising projects that center disabled and special needs students.

Designing for a Disability

Sensory Materials to Help Students with Autism in the Classroom

Using Technology to Empower Students with Special Needs

1 in 5 Students Have Dyslexia!

So check these out. In our next post, we’ll address the issue of homelessness in K-12 schools and some projects that aim to help.