Module 1: Understanding Catholic Mission: Serving All Students in the School Community. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) began the conversation about persons with disabilities in 1978, and many schools are still trying to find ways to bring the intentions of the bishops to fruition. Why is the inclusion of persons with disabilities related to mission? How is inclusion beneficial to every community? How can the message of inclusion as part of the mission be communicated to the community as a whole? These questions will be answered in this module.

Module 2: Getting to Know and Educating ALL Learners in Your School. This module administrators will learn the most prevalent learning disabilities, their characteristics, how they present in the classroom, and national statistics and data on each. Federal funding models and terms will be presented and defined. Catholic Social Teaching as described by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops will be presented. Alignments with inclusion, disability rights and advocacy, as well as school mission will be explored.

Module 3: The Framework: Self-Assessment and Laying the Foundation. Administrators will learn the structures and attributes of a basic framework that serves all students within their school community. This module will help to strengthen functioning and practical aspects of the framework and provide an overview of various models used to include all learners.

Module 4: The Administrator’s Role in Inclusion. The administrator’s role is to communicate expectations for inclusion of exceptional learners and how the school community responds to the needs of all students. This module includes the necessary components for exceptional learner programs along a continuum of learner needs.

Module 5: Recruiting and Retaining Effective Inclusive Educators. Administrators must hire educators who believe in the mission of inclusion and are willing to use high leverage practices in the classroom. Focusing on instruction, assessment, social and emotional learning, and collaboration with colleagues yields elevated expectations for learners. Educators who are supported, trained to implement high leverage practices, and provided with coaching will remain in the school community, and increase retention of faculty.

Module 6: Barriers and Challenges (Expected and Unexpected). The best approach when implementing a program for inclusion is to prepare for the challenges that will most certainly occur. These challenges will come from the community, school board, educators, and diocesan leadership. Scenarios presenting challenges and barriers will be provided, along with potential solutions and methods for moving in a positive direction.

Module 7: Creating and Communicating a Place of Belonging. Welcoming is only the first step in creating an inclusive school environment. Ensuring that students feel a sense of belonging takes intention and effort. In this module, administrators will focus on the admissions processes, marketing/communications, community building, and dispositions of those within the community.

Module 8: Goal-Driven Implementation Planning for Sustainability. How do teacher goals and classroom expectations intersect with long-term strategic planning and accreditation goals? Integrated goal setting at various levels of a school will bring about success in implementation and sustainability of school-wide initiatives. In this module, administrators will focus on high level strategic school goals for academic inclusive programming using classroom and teacher level goals as building blocks.