Dr. Julia Heath Reynolds is part of the music faculty at Belmont University.  The link to the recording of Dr. Heath Reynolds' webinar “Inclusivity with Intention" can be found under Webinar Recordings.

Rehabilitation Act - Section 504

★ Rights
• Attend 504 Plan team meeting
• Receive a copy of the 504 Plan
• If you disagree with the 504 Plan:
          - Express view at a meeting & suggest alternatives
          - Refuse to sign the plan
          - Contact your union rep if you believe the plan alters your terms and conditions of employment

“Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems” is a webinar by Mo Willems, Kennedy Center Artist in Residence and author of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. With students suddenly and unexpectedly home from school due to the COVID-19 epidemic Mo Willems began his lunchtime doodle session with a suggestion: “Let’s find a way to be isolated and together at the same time,” he said.

As we, globally, transition to school shutdowns as part of social distancing, arts continue to be a vital tool for engaging diverse students in learning remotely and at home.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Council for Exceptional Children, and Division of the Visual and Performing Arts published the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Arts and Special Education (JASE).  JASE is the first scholarly journal to focus on the intersection of the arts and special education. 

Historically there have been very few research studies that focused on both arts education and special education that met high-quality research standards.  The Research and Evaluation Department at the Kennedy Center, as well as leaders from across the field, have been pushing to change that.  This change will make more, and better, information available that educators can utilize to inform their evidence-based practices.  

 
The power of music to significantly impact the lives of children and communities is widely acknowledged.  But how can we best harness that power in a way that reaches young people of all backgrounds, circumstances and abilities? And, how can we create a world where all people are viewed equally-where diversity is the point of celebration? As artists, can we build projects that enable all young people’s ideas to be valued? And, how can we grow the capacity to deliver innovative creative projects through unique partnership models?
 
 
It is these such questions that inspired the vision for the Music for All Project-a pioneering music-education program in South Australia that saw over fifty students with multiple intellectual and physical disabilities collaborate across a weeklong creative music program. The bold design of the project sought to demonstrate the deep potential of a contemporary and inclusive model for music education that positioned students of all abilities at the centre of the creative process, mentored and guided by world-class teaching artists and emerging musicians.
 
 
Under the direction of award-winning composer and educationalist, Paul Rissmann (UK), and London-based violinist, Belinda McFarlane, students from three Adelaide special schools came together to take part in a series of collective composition workshops, supported by early-career musicians from the Australian Youth Orchestra. Inspired by the heart-warming Australian picture book Fancy Pants, by Kelly Hibbert and Amanda Graham, the five-day program of music-making and creativity was designed to empower and engage students of all abilities and experience.
 
The challenge for the artistic team to successfully incorporate the ideas of so many students with such highly diverse individual needs required extensive creative thinking, flexibility and commitment. The extraordinary outcomes achieved exceeded all expectations and were a true testament to the deep-level of collaboration and ambition demonstrated by all staff and artists involved in the project. A key indicator of the level of success of the project was the way in which each child personally felt acknowledged, celebrated and valued across the entire creative process.
   
 On stage, in a sold-out public performance, the students sang, hand signed, danced, played instruments, and narrated, as they performed side-by-side on stage with the AYO Momentum Ensemble and international artists. The concert integrated the musical contributions of all student groups, interwoven with enchanting musical excerpts and songs composed by Paul Rissmann. The event was a joyous and deeply moving celebration of the power of music and community to bring people together.
 
 
Beyond the artistic achievements of the project, most significant of the successes was the deep level of connection that developed between students, artists, community members and school staff. There is no doubt that the immense impact that the Music for All Project has had on both the school community and the individuals involved will be felt for a lifetime.
   
Emily Gann
Project Leader
Connecting the Dots in Music
 
This project was made possible by a team of highly committed partners.  Project footage available at www.musicforallproject.com. 
 
Creative Directors: Paul Rissmann (composer), Belinda McFarlane (violinist)
Project Leader: Emily Gann
Music teachers: Lucy Standish, Lily Lorraine, Mala Byam
Delivery Partners: City of Marion, Connecting the Dots in Music, Kilparrin Teaching and Assessment School and Services, Australian Youth Orchestra, Raising Literacy Australia,
Partner Schools: Kilparrin, SA School for Vision Impaired, Suneden Specialist School

Creative Generation is an organization that links the arts to advocacy by cultivating the creative capacities of young people to solve complex global issues. Jeff M. Poulin, the founder of Creative Generation, believes arts educators must be advocates and need to be involved in the processes of creating educational policy at the local, state and federal level.

“We need to be ready to talk about the role of the arts in the education of students with disabilities,” Poulin said. “And to ensure their right to an education that includes the arts is protected.” 

The social isolation that can be experienced by students with special needs places them at a higher risk for depression and anxiety, according to Margaret Ellis McKenna, MD, Senior Fellow in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Medical University of South Carolina.

“Promoting Equity at the Intersection of Deaf Education and the Arts” is a full-day preconference session at the VSA Intersections: Art and Special Education Conference taking place October 25-28, 2019 in Irvine, California.

Theater artist, advocate and educator Fred Beam has been a driving force in support of arts learning for D/deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students. He and Brian Cheslik, a theater teacher at Texas School for the Deaf and Founding Artistic Director of Deaf Theater Austin, will present at the first session in VSA Intersections history to focus exclusively on arts education and D/HH learners. 

April is Autism Awareness month, but Jacqueline Russell, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Children’s Theater, celebrates the “mind-blowing” creativity of theater and drama students on the autism spectrum every day.

Hello.  My name is Adrianna A. Matthews. I am a recent graduate from The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance. I received my Master of Fine Arts degree in May 2018, in the field of Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities. In addition, I also received a certification in Disabilities Studies from The University of Texas at Austin’s Master’s Portfolio program. Throughout my tenure attending The University of Texas at Austin as both a student and a Teaching and Project Assistant, I learned and discovered a lot about the complexities of being a black person and a graduate student with disabilities. I learned a lot about the trauma that takes place when having to negotiate between my wants, needs and desire to feel respected and valued as a black artist and wanting and needing to feel accommodated for my challenges as a student dealing and living with disabilities.           

Not being able to feel like I was obtaining both goals as a black artist and a graduate student made me feel diminished and empty throughout the majority of my experience in graduate school. Taking on the new identities as a black artist with disabilities and educator with disabilities made me feel limited and self-conscious about everything that I was trying to put out in the world. I didn’t feel whole in owning either identity. I consistently questioned my abilities to make good art, my abilities to teach, and my ability to feel, overall,  like I was adequately succeeding in my academic studies and desired profession to work full-time in higher education settings. I kept wondering to myself, “Why is it that I feel this way? Why is it so hard for me to accept and own these two identities? After all it’s not all of me, ‘it’s just one part of me’” (Matthews Applied Project).

Jenna Gabriel, Special Education Manager at the Office of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts shares her reflections on the VSA Intersections:  Regional Arts and Special Education Conference in New Orleans.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for curriculum development that provides many different points of access for each student.  In recognition that each learner is as unique as their fingerprint, UDL aligned pedagogy offers multiple ways for students to receive information, express what they know and engage with the content in ways they find interesting and motivating.

In this article, three experienced arts practitioners share some of the UDL aligned strategies and accommodations they employ:  Teaching Artist and Music Therapist Deb Neuman; Accessibility Coordinator, Director and Drama Teaching Artist Fran Sillau; and Middle School Visual Art Teacher Samantha Varian.