1. Valerie Villegas
UDL Assignment: Emerald School of Houston
The school will be calledEmeraldSchool of Houston, I wouldlike to create a school that accepts
children from the age of 6 months to 5th
grade. The school will offer a universally designed building
including an elevator, spiral stair case, and outdoor classroom areas for teachers to use as they wish.
When doingresearchon UDL schoolsand buildingdesignsIencounteredthissite that I will attach. (The
Centre for Excellence inUniversal Design,n.d.) Iwill use instruction,ideas,anddesignsIhave read from
here to structure the school. I would like to include a music room and a space for therapy sessions. At
the EmeraldSchool Iwouldliketoofferphysical therapy,occupationaltherapy,music,andspeechtherapy
to the students. The school will have a monthly fee, so that we can be able to offer to provide these
resources,butwe will alsoprovide scholarshipsandaidto studentswhoqualify. Alongwiththatwe will
have eventsto raise money,suchas tournaments,artwork sell (artmade by students),anda 5k run/ 3k
walk.
The school will nothold a computerlab because of the ages of the children,butall teacherswill
have access to IPad and a computer in class if they find need. With the age of the children I have
experienced that they work better with touch screens such as ipad’s and phones. This allows them to
access new things, learn how to maneuver, and helps them with sight and hearing as well. Videoand
audio will be incorporatedinto their learning styles at young ages so that we can observe and see how
theyadapt and learnbestas theygrow. Toolssuch as videoenlargerstoassistinvisuallymagnifyingthe
print for studentstoapps that can assiststudentsin reading. Test will be givenat youngages to ensure
that the students are responding well, but also so that they can get accustom to using materials other
than pen and paper.
Classeswill be arrangedby grade level andthenin alphabetical order. I want to create a school
that has UDL and offers all-inclusive education, this means that the school will be open for all students
2. withanykindof disabilityandstudentswithnodisability. Theywillbe togetherintheclassroomsworking
side by side, with this said there will be more than one teacher in the classrooms for children ages 6
monthsto 5 years. Once studentgraduate past thisage I wouldlike tohave themindividuallyevaluated
and if they need any extra instruction they can work with a special education aid in and outside of the
classroom,butthe majorityof theirtime will be spentinside inthe classroomwiththeirpeersandanaid
alongside them. For children5 years and youngerthe classeswill be no biggerthan 7 childrenwithone
teacherand three to four aids. Thisis to ensure that all the studentsare able to receive the propercare
and so that they can all work at their own pace.
Comingfrom a communitycollege background,Iwas able to work withpeople fromall overthe
world. We hadadvisorsthatwhere fromEthiopia,Iran,SouthAfrica,Mexico,andVietnamthisbenefited
me because I was able to learnthingsfrom all over the world,learnabout of people’sbackgrounds,and
exposed me to differentlanguages. I want to take the knowledge and experience I got and use it in my
schools;I wouldhire teachersandstaff to be versatile. Also,frommycurrent experience Iwouldstaff it
withpeople of all agesandexperiences. Anyoneatanyage can create an experience wherekidswantto
learn and feel inspired. In the begging I thought it would ideal for all my teachers to have a special
educationbackgroundordegree,butIamnew tospecial educationIwouldhopetonotgetpassedupfor
mylackof experiencesbecauseIhave theheartandpassiontoworkhard. Iwouldnotwanttostopothers
in their pursuit because I feel in order to have an all-inclusive environment you need people who have
passionandpatiencetoworkwithavariety of students. Iwouldalso liketostaffthe schoolwithpersonnel
that have disabilitiessothat the studentsgetto see role modelsof all kinds. Once hiredon I wouldlike
all staff and teachers to go through trainings, attend seminars, and learn about UDL classrooms.
Unfortunately it is impossible for teachers to use all UDL tactics, once students get to the 1st
grade
teachers will be able to incorporate whatever designs they feel are best student for the students as a
whole andindividuallywhentime allows. The majorityof theirtimeshouldbe spentwithUDLapproaches,
3. studentsshouldshowgrowthand changeswiththese tactics. Teacherswill have a general curriculumas
a guide line, but will follow individual differences throughout the school year. Unless students are
showing no progress and are not doing well on practice exams that is. For new schools, even schools
todayIfeel asif everythingisapossibility,youneverknowwhensomethingisgoingtochange ineducation
or in your classroom so there should always be room to adapt new learning styles.
At the endof everymonthstudentswillbe assessedtosee if anychange isoccurring. Thiswillbe
for the first year, because as we all know something can be implemented and not work well therefore
once we collectdatawe cansee howwellourdatacollectionisworking. BythatImeanif aftersome time
passes and we see that observing the children individually at the end of every month does not give us
enough time to see if growth is occurring we can reorganize to see what time span works best for
observing growth, at different age groups.
