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Special education teachers in �ԹϺ��� are strengthening literacy instruction through the Building Bridges research project through University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The collaborative partnership aims to help students with extensive support needs, such as the use of AAC devices, develop reading and writing skills.

Last school year, teachers in the Students with Unique Needs (SUN) program worked with researchers to review curriculum, explore new ways to approach lessons, and reflect on teaching strategies. 

“I really pushed for this partnership so I could ask questions related to what we were learning in some of our READ Act professional learning,” said Sara Gokey, special education instructional specialist. “I was able to discover strategies to accommodate some of the curriculum in a way that could be applied to some of my non-speaking learners,” 

In May, Dr. Lori Geist from the research team visited SUN classrooms at Indian Mounds and Westwood elementary schools to see lesson plans in action and identify best practices for students with special needs.

“While the research isn’t specific to building curriculum, it’s building all of the supports for teachers and professionals to be successful in implementing the curriculum,” said Dr. Geist. 

In working with BPS and dozens of other school districts nationwide, researchers have created a series of learning modules teachers can use to support their implementation of literacy curriculum. These learning modules were shared with staff through professional learning opportunities this summer.

“We share the belief that all kids have the right to literacy. For the students who can’t rely on speech alone to be heard and understood, literacy is the only way they'll be able to say what they want to whomever they want about whatever they want. So it’s critical to their education and life outcomes,” said Geist.