Inclusion and The Current

We were rivited to our internet-radio this morning, listening to a segment on inclusion in public schools on The Current on CBC Radio.  They shared perspectives from a parent, a teacher, an advocate for inclusion from Newfoundland, and Winnipeg human rights lawyer who was against inclusion. 

I would encourage everyone to listen to the interview.  You'll find it on The Current's website at http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/

If you have an opinion to share about inclusion, please leave your comments here.

Below you'll find the response letter sent to The Current by our Founder and Executive Director Lucinda Low.


Dear Anna Maria,


I listened with great interest to the many perspectives offered this morning in your segment on inclusion in public schools. I am the Founder and Executive Director of Bridgeway Academy, a provincially-designated special education school for students with learning disabilities in the province of Nova Scotia. Each one of our students is a reinforcement of my belief that inclusion in the public school system does not work.

I started this school 27 years ago when my school board was unable to provide the support and programming my son needed. Today, we provide individualized education to close to 100 students with learning disabilities. All of our students have come to us after trying, and failing, to succeed in the public school or private school system.

The stories I hear from parents are heartbreaking. Parents share with me the emotional toll that trying to support their child has taken on their entire family. It is not uncommon for parents to break down in tears as they share their stories with me, recounting the ways their children have not only struggled to learn, but also with self-esteem, anxiety, and social exclusion.

I do believe that there are teachers in every school, every school board and every province who try very hard to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities. Unfortunately, the system is not set up in a way which allows them to succeed. As the teacher who was interviewed on your program pointed out, meeting several different needs in one classroom can be extremely difficult. And as needs go unmet, behaviours begin, making the situation even more untenable.

At our school, remedial classes operate on a 6:1 ratio, with students of the same skill level working together, regardless of grade. Our teachers understand the needs of each individual student and teach to them in the way they learn best. Our students are further supported with social skill instruction, and learn to establish and build relationships, self-manage, and communicate. We handle behaviours by looking at the individual and determining if they need to develop the skills to handle specific situations.

How do we know we’re succeeding where inclusion hasn’t? When a student tells us he feels “normal” again. When a parent tells us that her child is able to do her homework on her own. When a child tells us he likes this school because he’s not being yelled at every day.

Our students are not on individual program plans – they are learning the Nova Scotia curriculum, but in a way they understand. Once our students are remediated back up to their grade level, we’ll help them transition back into the public school system. If they are graduating from our school, we’ll help them transition into post-secondary education or into the working world. Our students have gone on to get their college diplomas and university degrees. Our students have gone on to become business professionals, teachers and hairdressers. No matter how long they stay with us, all leave our school understanding their learning disabilities, their learning styles, and will be empowered to advocate for themselves.

I would invite you to visit us at any time to talk to our students, our teachers and our parents. I think you would find the experience both enlightening and emotional.

Lucinda Low
Founder and Executive Director
Bridgeway Academy