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Tim Villegas

00:14

I've been out of the classroom for a few years now. It was 2017. The last time I had a class roster, welcomed parents to an open house, or waved a tearful goodbye on the last day of school. But it doesn't mean I don't miss being a teacher sometimes. And meeting Harper, a rising third grader who uses augmentative and alternative communication. I thought I would have loved to have Harper in my classroom. I was wrapping up talking with her parents, Justin and Christina Berry. Harper had just come home and she was telling me where she was going to go for dinner.

Justin Berry

00:52

Where are we going to eat tonight?

Christina Berry

00:54

I want to go have salad. We go into

Christina Berry

00:59

Taco Bell. Taco Smith, Lucky's burger and Lucky's burger brew like that thing. What are you going to have to eat? cheese burger was tater tots. What do you want to drink? This is Mrs. Vera. Oregon Mrs.

Christina Berry

01:28

Charlie, your friend Charlie's come in. Oh, that'd be so cool.

Tim Villegas

01:32

You got a better social life and like the popular young like, despite her school district wanting to place Harper in a classroom for students with intellectual disabilities, her parents advocated for her to be included in general education. I'm Tim Villegas, from the Maryland Coalition for inclusive education. And you are listening to inclusion stories, our podcast series that tells the stories of families, educators and school systems on their journey to full and authentic inclusive education for each and every learner.

Inclusion Stories - Chapter Two: What a Novel Idea