What is your educational background?
I received my bachelor's in Early Childhood Education from Kansas State University (KSU) in 1988 and my Master's in Early Childhood Special Education from Kansas State University in 1992.

What other experiences, or staff development has prepared you for inclusion?.
I have received training and information from a variety of workshops and conferences. I also worked as a graduate assistant at KSU at the Early Childhood Laboratory (ECL) with the inclusive classrooms while doing my graduate work.

What is your job role?
I teach the full day preschool classroom as an ECSE teacher and consult with the teacher in another room concerning her ECSE children.

What is your role regarding the inclusive component of the program?
My role is a teacher for the full day classroom and consultant for other ECSE children in the program.

How has your role changed or have you adapted your role as it relates to the inclusive program?
My role has changed from being strictly an ECSE teacher, basically serving ECSE children with model children, to teaching an inclusive classroom of ECSE and regular education children in a community preschool.

What were your biggest concerns about participating in an inclusive program?
Whether or not children would be served appropriately and adequately.

What were your experiences related to these concerns once inclusive services were implemented?
How to organize my time so that I could teach in my classroom and be available as an consultant for my other ECSE children. Also, how much more efficient it is to share resources and personnel in order to serve ALL children. . . everyone gains from the related service staff.

What do you see as the benefits of moving toward inclusive services?
All children are seen as children first. Also, all children are exposed to all kinds of experiences, people, and disabilities. We are all alike and we are all different. Everyone benefits from the services.

Can you offer one or more anecdotes that you feel illustrate the benefits of inclusion?
Communication, team work, collaboration. pooling resources, and being organized are some of the key components of a successful inclusive program.