Anne, from Raintree replied:
I have worked as a head teacher for seven years, teaching preschoolers with a wide variety of needs. I have received so much support from our special education coordinator, a variety of therapists and support staff. The support has been crucial in my awareness of children and their special needs. My experiences with inclusion over the years have made me a stronger, more passionate, Montessori teacher. Prior to completing my Montessori Internship at Raintree, I worked a year and a half as an assistant in a full inclusion classroom at Raintree. I gained an immense amount of knowledge and experience about inclusion during this time period. Inclusion had been a very rewarding experience for me.

Carolyn, from St. Ben's Infant/Toddler replied:
Staff meetings, Health Department staff in services, USD 500 involvement, and interaction between staff and interactions between staff and families.

Connie, from Raintree replied:
I worked as a paraprofessional for the Flint Hills Special Education Cooperative (FHSEC) for eight years, assisting special education teachers in self-contained classrooms and supporting regular education teachers and special needs students in regular education classrooms. I have attended numerous state conferences over the past ten years, the Inclusion Institute in Emporia (a week long, intensive team building program), and many inservices for USD 253. I served as a member of the Inclusion Team and the Child Study Team for one of the USD 253 elementary buildings and the Behavior Disorders Study Team for the FHSEC. I served on the Professional Development Task Force for the FHSEC as well. I am also the mother of three children who have had friends of varying abilities and physical challenges. Inclusion has always been an important issue for our family.

Darla, from Bright Futures replied:
At my previous job, the last year that I was there, we had an inclusive program with children in regular and special education.

Jennifer, from White replied:
When I chose to be part of the inclusion model at White, we had several inservices on teaming and the philosophy of the program. We had the opportunity to go to The University of Kansas and Emporia State University for further training. We also had the opportunity to present at several inservices which helped us put the pieces of the program together to share with others.

Michelle, from St. Ben's Infant/Toddler replied:
My other experiences include classes in special education. I have also taken inservice hours which have helped me broaden my perspective on inclusion. The experience in an inclusive class has also prepared me. When I work with other staff, I begin to see the importance of inclusion.

Missy, from St. Ben's Preschool replied:
My work experiences were always with young children. While I was in school, I taught at day care centers, church school, summer camps, Head Start, and I was also a nanny for two summers. The best experiences have been work related experiences with different children at our school each year.

Kikki, from Opportunity Preschool replied:
Some of my experiences include student teaching in an inclusive setting, being a part of the IEP process and having early childhood special education teachers in my building as resource people, case managers, etc

Shannon, from Barkley replied:
I have taken two special education courses through UN-L, but most of my inclusive training has been on the job.

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