I ain’t dandy-lyin’. Spring is here.

🤧 Need a box of tissues?

Apr 8

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Hi, Y’all!

It is fantastic to be back home in beautiful Marietta, GA, where spring has sprung; the birds serenade us in the morning, allergies are in full force, and the pollen makes everything yellow.

[GIF] Miss Piggy among yellow flowers sneezes and the force rolls Rowlf and his piano right off-screen

But I digress.

I’ve been on the road with my family and for work over the last couple of weeks, and I wanted to give you a little recap.

The first stop was in Columbia, South Carolina, where my family and I saw a production of The Lion King. Can I just say…

Tim Villegas (186/365) @TheRealTimVegas

Percussionists are awesome. That is all. #Tweet100

While we were there, we enjoyed some time on the Palmetto Trail (a truly gorgeous paved walking and biking path) where we got our steps and spied a basking alligator on the shore.

[image] an alligator basking in the sun on the shore of the Columbia Canal

My next stop was Oklahoma City, where Carol Quirk (MCIE’s CEO) and I led an all-day symposium for over 100 school administrators from across the state of Oklahoma hosted by the Oklahoma Autism Center. I cannot stress how wonderful it was to be in a room full of educators who truly wanted to move inclusive education forward in their schools and districts.

During the symposium, we asked school leaders to write down questions they had about leading inclusive schools, and here were some of the big ones.

How do we change the mindset of the school staff?
How do we get started with inclusive systems change (what is the timeline)?
What about the Least Restrictive Environment? Doesn’t that contradict inclusion?
What about parents who want their children in separate special education classrooms?
How will we have enough staff to implement inclusive education?
How can we support collaboration between special and general education teachers?
Where are good examples of inclusive schools?

If you are wondering what the answers to these questions are, Carol and I will be publishing a Q&A session soon. Speaking of Carol, I’ve been working at MCIE for a year and a half, and the Oklahoma trip was the first time we’ve officially met face-to-face!

[image] selfie of me and Carol during the inclusion symposium in Oklahoma

The next stop was the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, which IYKYK. Let me begin by saying that rock climbing is not my favorite. But, it is a beautiful sport and one that my family loves to watch and participate in. Our good friends have a daughter in high school that is a competitive rock climber and if you ask a dedicated climber, there are few places in the world like “The Red.”

[image] my son (12) repelling after climbing 60+ feet on a slab at Roadside Crag in The Red

The climbing community is a small one and reminds me a lot of the community of inclusionists that are passionate about a very singular thing. And like inclusive education advocates, they can talk for hours about the ins and outs of routes like we can chat about natural proportions and changing mindsets. If you ever find yourself at The Red, make sure you stop at Miguel’s Pizza. You won’t regret it.

Ok. Final stop. Buc-ee’s in Calhoun, Georgia.

Have you ever been to one? Imagine a cross between a gas station on steroids, a Walmart, the Cracker Barrel store, and your neighborhood BBQ joint complete with a beef jerky bar. Oh, super clean bathrooms too, which are important, right?

[image] me and the fam in front of Buc-ee’s in Calhoun, GA with the signature bucktoothed beaver with red cap logo sign in the background

Thanks for joining me on my recap road trip. I appreciate your time and allowing me to invade your inbox every couple of weeks.

Have a great week everyone!

Tim

Update: Where are the inclusive schools?

The good news is that there is massive interest in our project. The great news is that we are very close to telling you what the project is going to entail. The not-so-great news for those who are expecting us to publish a list is that our endgame is not a list. BUT, once you hear about what we’ve got going on I think you are going to be ecstatic.

Want to hear about our project first? Join MCIE’s email list. We will announce it there first.

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