By Ishmael Swiney
At Captain Shreve High School, one initiative is working hard to redefine what inclusion looks like in and outside of the classroom setting. The GLUE Initiative, founded by Renee Caldwell, created meaningful connections between the special education population and general education students, building a culture rooted in empathy, awareness, and unity.
Caldwell says the inspiration for the club came from years of observing a quiet divide among the students.
“As a veteran educator, I’d witnessed many instances where students in the regular population would simply pass by their peers who had special challenges without acknowledging them as much,” she explained. “In some cases, students were even frightened by sudden outbursts or meltdowns.”
Instead of accepting that as a norm, she saw it as an opportunity.
The program’s main goal is to provide information and education to both students and staff regarding the individuals with exceptional needs, and as a result providing “a greater awareness, appreciation and accepting climate for persons with differences.” This mission is not only of importance within schools; according to the founder of the program, this work is also important in the REAL world. As we live and work alongside individuals with diverse abilities, the program creates an opportunity for young people to develop the compassion and empathy to be able to work together in society.
As Caldwell states, “Inclusion for me is not a word; it is something students can experience through GLUE.”
Students have the opportunity to experience inclusion by having an inclusive environment available to them where they physically and indirectly are learning with a variety of individuals who are similar but different than themselves. Caldwell continues, “Ultimately as educators, we have a responsibility to model the inclusion that takes place, so it is important that we embrace every opportunity for students to experience different abilities and be prepared for the next generation of leaders and decision makers.”
In addition to creating opportunities for students to experience inclusion, the program also fosters the development of relationships between students who have exceptional needs and their typically developing peers through interactions and exposure to one another.
“Students have the opportunity to directly learn with their peers and through those experiences will develop a greater understanding of different social and functional abilities,” Caldwell says. She believes that students will carry those experiences into their adult lives and when they become leaders their decision-making process with be better. She believes that the exposure the students gain through GLUE will eliminate some of the fears that exist when they interact with people with disabilities.
The program has created a successful club through a variety of events including a Fall Festival, Modified Prom, and Book Buddies, where students read with one another in the special education classroom.
The response to GLUE was positive, from inception through the approval process with the school administration. Co-founder, Kendrick Law worked to develop the full program plan while recruiting, discovering, and building the student leaders (i.e., Landry Tippet and Ishmael Swiney) before launching their project with a tremendous promotional campaign.
The leadership hopes to make GLUE much more than just a club; they hope it will become ingrained in the culture of Captain Shreve, in our society, and as an enduring part of our nation. She wants the model to expand to other schools and ultimately to have it be spread from state-to-state.
To the students who may be interested in participating, the message is very simple and powerful.
“Come be a friend, make a difference, enhance your lives and change the world because working together (like glue), the world can become MUCH BETTER.”