Regarding how and why our group believed that the proposed goal and recommendations will facilitate positive change, there are several key elements that provided our group with the hope that our suggestions will instill positive change. Given the relatively neutral nature of our endeavor, as compared to more politically charged topics regarding education in today’s times, our topic operates as a form of change that can be supported by individuals across both sides of the political aisle on the fact that we are simply wishing to improve the educational and developmental success of students with disabilities as well as attain higher levels of equity within our current age.
Additionally, as it is required that schools must have some manner of contacting caregivers of students, our group believed that these existing communication channels would serve as a critical foundation on which our group’s goals, objectives, as well as recommendations could be implemented and hopefully achieved. As a major portion of this project noted how access to resources has a profound role in influencing student success and family stability, our group hopes that the incentive of possibly becoming introduced to helpful programs and instructional support that is designed to assist the family in topics ranging from financial support to developmental guidance on raising children disabilities will cause caregivers to engage in open communication and increased levels of collaboration with educators and support staff. Finally, as our goals, objectives, and recommendations are not based around a single event or activity, but instead designed to be implemented at the start of each semester, our proposed plan has the capacity to continually support and positively impact participants well beyond the first school year this program is implemented.
In order to ensure that the implementation of our program started in a strong and impactful fashion, our group decided that it would be prudent to host an event, after screening caregivers for possible time availabilities in the form given to all caregivers to see if they were interested in receiving support services, where families could visit and/or interact with faculty, staff, and support providers related to the school. This event, at which a meal and participatory activities would be held, could also serve as an optimal event for also allowing caregivers to make connections with other families who could potentially operate as outlets for support and shared knowledge. Our group also noted how check-in events throughout the semester could work as a useful option for school educators and families to “catch up” and ensure that any areas of concern were being adequately addressed as well as that the caregivers and students were receiving ample support.
Reflecting on all of the elements within our group’s plan, our proposals carry the notable ability to increase levels of equity. Firstly, communicating with caregivers and providing them with valuable resources would greatly contribute to improving access to resources and, by default, improve familial stability through the utilization of provided resources. Improving this area, as well as enhancing student support not only within the classroom but also in the home environment in collaboration with parents, would also play an influential role in improving student success and performance. In raising student success and performance, especially in students with disabilities, our recommendations could then permit these valuable and diverse members of our population to participate and have greater levels of influence in our world. This, as a result, would improve the overall levels of inclusion and equity not only within our local community but also in our society as a whole.