"Because they're both semi-structured and unstructured, [afterschool programs] are a good place to teach social skills and transitions," says Eric Robinson, an assistant professor in the educational psychology department at Baylor University and the program director of Baylor's school psychology program. He notes that these results can be measured by looking at the friendships gained and the social skills learned by students with disabilities. Educators can observe behavior changes in a child over time, and survey children in the program about their friends.

However, in order for inclusive afterschool programs to achieve these goals, Dr. Robinson emphasizes that educators need to address the challenges and liabilities inherent in these programs. Since afterschool programs are usually run by an outside organization, not the school, the staff usually does not receive the same training that teachers do when it comes to working with students with disabilities. There are also liability issues when it comes to children with challenging behaviors and the possible risks to other students. These issues are compounded by the absence of school administrators from the building during program hours.

Dr. Robinson recommends that schools provide training to afterschool program employees on working with children who have disabilities and on managing challenging behaviors. To reward employees for their time and recognize their efforts, he suggests schools provide some sort of certificate upon the completion of their training.

Noting that schools often face a legal dilemma of whether or not afterschool program staff should be privy to a child's specific disability or IEP, Dr. Robinson points out that such training helps staff understand the nature of disabilities and challenging behavior and prepares them to manage any problem that might occur, thereby eliminating the need to show them every detail of a student's IEP. He does recommend that if the afterschool program is included in a student's IEP, the program's staff should attend the IEP meeting.

Administrative Leadership

School principals should also work with faculty to examine the liability issues and come up with a plan to deal with any legal or safety issues. Dr. Robinson suggests that each school have a contact person - special education teacher, counselor - for the afterschool program staff to call on if an emergency arises. The organization running the program for a particular district can also hire a special educator to work after school hours as a consultant to the program staff in several schools. The principals of these schools can, in turn, negotiate with district officials about sharing the salary cost of the educator/consultant.

Of course, the biggest boost a principal can provide for an inclusive afterschool program is to support inclusion in the school in general. To encourage students with disabilities to enroll in the afterschool program, Dr. Robinson recommends that principals communicate that interest to the school's special education teachers and ask them to discuss the program with the families of the students they work with.

Copyright (c) 2002 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission.