Recent Posts

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

So grateful

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and all is quiet around the KIT offices. Email and phone calls from the outside world have all but stopped, and those of us working (and not battling the opt-out campaign at airports today) are doing a combination of catching-up and getting ahead. It’s nice to have a quiet day after months and months of hustle and bustle around here. What am I doing, you ask? Mostly sitting with a soft smile on my face as I consider all that I am grateful for here at KIT. In honor of Thanksgiving, I’ve made a short list that I share with you today. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

I am grateful for…

· The amazing group of women who I get to work with at KIT. From Jan’s incredibly visionary leadership, to Sara, Cheryl and Amanda keeping all of our processes in place, to Alicia’s work in re-branding and making our materials and website more hip and modern, to the passionate and dedicated group of NTCI staff (Wendi, Nili, Julie, Kara, Suzanne and Selena) who are constantly on the phone and in the field showing people the beauty and power of inclusion. And, I can’t leave Mary and Alissa off of the list, as I am supremely grateful to both of them for how they have, and continue to, help move KIT forward. Everyday I am grateful to get to spend my days with such a talented, fun and creative group of women.

· Our KIT affiliates who open themselves up to trying new ways of teaching, new ways of learning and new ways of relating to children and their families. They have been incredibly game, and I am both impressed with and very proud of their efforts. I know that everyday they make the world a better place for children.

· Our own KIT board of directors. When I arrived at the office this morning our Board President (Dr. Jane McAuliffe)’s 17 year-old son was sitting at a computer volunteering his time on a day off of school by helping enter training data (a very tedious job!). Making my way to my own office I bumped into board member Rahul Dangui who said he came by this morning just to “hang out” for a bit. Our board members are committed, supportive and enthusiastic about our mission.

· The US Military’s commitment to inclusion and their willingness to allow KIT to come in and, in the words of one of their staff, “shake things up.”

· Everyone of our partners, supporters, friends and collaborators who have helped spread the word about inclusion this past year.

· All of our learners, who teach us something every day.

· The Youth Inclusion Voices who have created an amazing message campaign called I Am Norm.

Donors and funders who believe in our work, volunteers who selflessly give their time and talents...

I think I’ll have to continue this list into next week and the week after, as I can think of so many more things and people that I am grateful for at KIT.

Peace!



Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I've (Been to) Kansas City...Kansas City (There I Was)

At KIT one of our big hopes is that people who learn about inclusion will take their knowledge and spread it around. It’s obviously great if people learn new techniques to include children with disabilities and go back and use them in their own classrooms and programs, but it is even better if people take the message and philosophy of inclusion and share it with their colleagues so that it completely permeates an organization. We’ve seen organizations be absolutely transformed by inclusion- the concept of ensuring that every child is welcomed, valued and supported.

A wonderful example of this “psst…pass it along” is the after school program called Kids Country in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Over the past several years Kids Country has been a National Affiliate of KIT, a program that is generously funded by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF). To say that we have been impressed with them would be a big, big understatement. In addition to doing the hard internal work of examining their own programs to improve inclusiveness, they have also been spreading the word about the value of inclusion far and wide in the state of Missouri. At our recent National Conference on Inclusion we honored their efforts with our highest honor, the KIT Leadership Award.

The staff of Lee's Summit Kids Country accepting their award.

This past weekend I attended the Missouri School Age Care Professional Development Institute (PDI), where I was a keynote speaker and presenter. This year’s PDI was organized by the staff at Kids Country and held in Kansas City. I was absolutely blown away by how the Kids Country staff incorporated inclusion as a theme throughout the event. Their passion for access and inclusion was obvious in their large-scale decisions (keynote speakers) and even in the smallest details (wonderful quotes about inclusion in their conference program).

Me with Tyler Greene- check out his video

So, thank you Lee’s Summit Kids Country! Spending the weekend with you and the dedicated professionals from the state of Missouri was an absolute gift.

Inclusion is…taking your passion and sharing it with others.