Page 18 - Oct - Dec 2023 Edition

AN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AT ISU

Article by: Simon Gillespie Head of School, International School of Uganda

ALL STUDENTS ARE INDIVIDUALS, AND ALL STUDENTS CAN LEARN…

When you interact with your children, you can see similarities and differences.
Comparisons between yourself as a parent, and your child are often made – “she gets
her math skills from her mom” or “he looks just like his dad.” We often make comments
– “can’t you be more like your brother”, but more often, we recognise that each of our
children is unique, has their own strengths, talents, passions, and differences. At times
these differences can be a challenge to learning, and therefore, we must understand
how best to support each child on their individual learning journey.
At the International School of Uganda, we come together as a whole school, a
community of learners, to develop a sense of belonging for everyone. Accepting
each of our unique identities promotes the development of international mindedness,
agentic learning, and responsible citizenship. We support, guide, and empower the
community throughout the journey of inclusion and lifelong learning. As a community,
we understand that everyone can learn and reach their full potential given access
and ownership. We accept the responsibility for educating and enabling students, staff,
and parents in realizing our philosophy. We strive to remove the barriers to an inclusive
education and provide all learners with experiences that cultivate agency, embrace
partnership, and nurture strengths.

HOW DO WE CREATE THIS CULTURE OF INCLUSION?
Based on our beliefs, we ensure that we have the resources and professional learning in
place for all our educators. Resources include trained learning support teachers, assistant
teachers, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, access to an
educational psychologist, assistive technologies, and access to high quality resources,
training and workshops held by experts around the world. We believe all teachers are
teachers of all children. We have a culture of collaboration so that when planning,
teachers are able to create learning experiences that are differentiated and personalized
to support each child where they are at on their journey.

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