Visitors from Ukraine - A Global Learning Experience for All!

Visitors from Ukraine - A Global Learning Experience for All!

ADVOCACY AND INTEGRATION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

A Project for Ukraine

"It reminded me, that we are all individuals who are trying to provide the best learning environment for all students regardless of home country, disability or label."

Michele Mueller
Autism Spectrum Disorder Special Education Para-Educator, Mortensen Elementary School
Littleton, Colorado

On Friday, October 26, 2018 Mortensen Elementary School had the pleasure of hosting visitors from Ukraine who were in the United States to learn about how we educate children with disabilities.  The group of Ukrainian visitors came as part of a program from our U.S. Department of State.  Here is some information about the IVLP program from the State Department:

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leaders the opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of American political, economic, social and cultural life through carefully designed exchanges that reflect participants’ professional interests and the public diplomacy objectives of the United States government.

The exchange brings up to 5,000 professional emerging leaders from around the world to the United States each year for programs of up to three weeks. The program is nomination only by staff at U.S. Embassies.

I was very impressed with the professional resumes and experiences of our visitors.  They are certainly leaders in their country of Ukraine in the creation and development of educational programming and providing resources to "level the playing field" for students with disabilities with the ultimate goal of ensuring a positive future for all of their citizens.  Isn't that what we are trying to do here in the United States, as well?  I certainly hope so!

Here are some of the leadership positions that our visitors hold in their home country:

Mr. Ruslan KOLBASA
Director, Department for Family and Children Affairs, Ministry of Social Policy

Ms. Zoreslava LIULCHAK, Ph.D.
Director, Rehabilitation Center (Dzherelo) and Assistant Professor of Logistics and Marketing, Lviv Polytechnic University

Mr. Roman MARABYAN, Ph.D.
Director, Specialized Kharkiv Home for Children #1

Ms. Olena MYKHAILENKO
Head, Department of the Inpatient Institutions, Office of Social Protection of Population, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration

Ms. Olha NABOCHENKO
Specialist, Expert Group on Inclusive Education, Ministry of Education

Ms. Maryna YAROSHUK
Lawyer, Poroshenko Charitable Foundation

I am in hopes that the visit to my school assisted in adding value toward meeting the goals and objectives that our visitors had, and that they are able to take back ideas and information that will help them in their efforts to meet the needs of their citizens.

PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES

The Department of State has outlined the following specific objectives for the project:

• Examine U.S. federal, state and local legislation related to special needs public education;
• Explore U.S. best practices in inclusive education and social integration for special needs children;
• Examine the role of the public and private sectors in providing support to families with special needs children; and
• Discuss the role of the child welfare system in protecting the rights of special needs children.

I was very proud of all of my staff members and students during the visit, but I especially would like to highlight some reflections of one of the para-educators in our Autism Spectrum Disorder program. Michele served as a facilitator of the visit and a tour guide of our classrooms and programs.  Thank you Michele for your leadership through this initiative!

Reflections from Michele

Last Friday I had the honor and privilege of giving a tour to a group of Ukrainian visitors from the International Leadership Visitor Program. Their purpose was to view our program for inclusion practices.  Inclusion is a major part of our ASD program at Mortensen.  The group had many questions about staffing, training, funding for training and bullying.  But, they seemed most interested in assistive technology and uses in the classroom.  We visited a third grade class that was having a discussion related to persuasion and opinion writing.  The topic was whether or not gum should be allowed in school.  It was exciting to see our visitors join in with the class and give their opinion with a fact to see if they could persuade any students’ votes.  The next class we visited was a second grade class that was hosting their “buddies” from a kindergarten class. Many of the younger students approached our visitors and shared their completed crafts and projects with them.  It was a wonderful visit and I found it inspiring to see the Ukrainian visitors hurdle the language barrier and engage with our students.   It reminded me, that we are all individuals who are trying to provide the best learning environment for all students regardless of home country, disability or label.

Michele Mueller, Paraeducator

Mortensen Elementary

The privilege that we had on Friday was beneficial for everyone involved.  

It helps solidify my view that more global collaboration, not less, is the answer for us all!