# Your Inclusion Transition Checklist: How to Support Students New to Inclusive Classrooms

May 1, 2018

As an inclusive educator, you’ll likely welcome some students who are making their first transition into a general education class. Whether they’re coming from a self-contained class or a separate school, they’ll need some supports and action steps from the education team to ensure a smooth transition and full membership in the classroom community.

Today’s post, excerpted and adapted from inclusion expert Cheryl Jorgensen’s upcoming book,[**It’s More Than “Just Being In**](http://products.brookespublishing.com/Its-More-Than-Just-Being-In-P1062.aspx)“, outlines the key steps you and the rest of your student’s team should take before, during, and after their transition to your classroom. This handy checklist is a good resource to bookmark and share with parents, other teachers, your principal, and additional support staff to make sure you’re all on the same page.

### At Least 3 Months Before the Transition

Start getting ready! Take these first important steps:

- Enlist the school principal, special education administrator, and family in support of the student’s transition.
- Use books and other professional development opportunities to brush up on key inclusion topics: accessible instructional materials, assistive technology, positive behavior supports, belonging and social relationships, sensory supports, movement supports, emotional needs, environmental adaptations, the collaborative instructional planning process, grading, and presuming competence.
- Visit other inclusive schools along with other team members.
- Have open discussions with other team members to address concerns up front.

### About 2 Months Before the Transition

As the student’s transition gets closer, you should:

- Be in touch with parents. At this point (or before), parents should tell the student that they will be going to a new classroom/school and schedule a tour.
- Schedule a transition meeting between the family and all the members of the student’s IEP team.
- Write or revise the IEP to reflect inclusive goals, supports, and placement.
- Create common planning time for the team.
- Schedule special education and related services.
- Assess the classroom and other school environments for accessibility and make the necessary adaptations.
- Determine where the student will sit in the classroom.
- Order any equipment, curricula, and software you need, or prepare for its transfer when the student leaves their old placement.
- Help arrange for the student to get to school on the regular bus.
- Begin creating participation plans for upcoming units you will teach.
- Ensure that medical and safety procedures are in place.
- Continue your professional development.

### The Week Before the Transition

Almost ready to welcome your new student! At this stage, make sure you’ve done the following:

- Set up the student’s desk and ensure that they have all the same materials as the other students in your classroom.
- Schedule a team meeting to discuss the first week of school.
- Ensure that supports are fully prepared for your student’s full participation on the day they arrive in your classroom.
- If the transition happens during the school year, tell your other students that a new student will be joining their classroom. Suggest specific ways they can welcome and support the new student.

### The Week the Student Arrives

To celebrate the arrival of your new student:

- Do a welcoming activity with your class (with young children, you can try an activity like _We All Fit Together_[Friedrich, 2012]).
- Read a book about disability with your class, such as _Ian’s Walk: A Story About Autism_(Lears, 1998) or _Just Because_(Elliott, 2012). _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_(Haddon, 2003) or _No Pity: Forging a New Civil Rights Period_(Shapiro, 1993) can be read by older students.
- Have a brief team meeting every day at lunch or after school to discuss how things are going.
- Call the parents to share how the week went at school and ask how the student is adjusting at home.

### Two Weeks After the Student Arrives

Keep the lines of communication open with the school team to make sure the transition is going smoothly. At this stage, you should:

- Schedule a team meeting to discuss how well supports are working.
- Check in with the family again to see how the student is adjusting to their new school experience.
- Work with the family to set up a social gathering outside of school for the student and a few classmates.

What strategies have you tried in your own inclusive classroom to make a new student’s transition easier? Share your suggestions below!

## CHECK OUT THE BOOK

** It’s More Than “Just Being In”: Creating Authentic Inclusion for Students with Complex Support Needs**

By Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D.

This book is your school team’s practical blueprint for making authentic inclusion happen in K-12 classrooms. You’ll get a clear rationale for meaningful inclusion and learn how to use strengths-based, person-centered planning to meet the needs of each individual student. Concrete, research-based examples show you what successful inclusion looks like, and ready-to-use strategies help you implement each stage of inclusion, from presuming competence to supporting the transition to adult life.