An Empowered Educator Is Giving Every Student a “Voice”
Offering Personalized Learning
In Olathe District (in the Kansas suburbs of Kansas City), a dedicated Early Childhood Development Specialist named Ashley Franchett is transforming education for her students. She’s using a variety of tools and strategies to get every student, even non-verbal learners, involved.
Ashley’s challenges may not be what you assume. Her students are not “bored”. They are not “refusing” to participate. They, instead, make up an integrated classroom where each student has their own unique challenges and support needs. Ashley, who became an educator specifically to help unlock the potential of special learners, relishes the opportunity to help make learning as inclusive as possible.
Exemplifying one of Empowered’s Foundational Principles, dignity, Ashley advocates for her students. She knows that every student has inherent worth – deserving not to sit and passively learn but to participate in and benefit from the learning. Ashley found an ally in Empowered. Our resources and support help simplify teacher prep and maximize teacher impact and joy.
Innovation in the Classroom
Embracing openness, Ashley came to us for help with resources would make her classroom fully inclusive. Through exploration she was finding myriad ways to create a more inclusive environment but the resources and tools to make the change were not immediately available to her. Empowered’s Micro Grant program helped fill the gap. Based on Ashley’s proposal, we provided her a small amount of money to buy some resources to try a few new things.
Ashley, with her grant, began creating adaptive books – each a tailored version of a the same content specifically created for them and their abilities. As they would sit for circle time, each student was given “their” book so they could each read the story or engage with the content, and each other, their own way. The biggest benefit Ashley saw was in a non-verbal student.
Previously only an observer – who often seemed sad and lonely to not be more a included in circle time – they were suddenly an active participant. They could now point to icons and match pictures in their book to share their thoughts and excitement with the class. This shift reduced the child’s sense of isolation and reflected the Bottom-Up principle. Ashley leveraged her knowledge and spontaneous order to find solutions that resonate with those directly affected. The books were a hit – but not sustainable every day. Luckily, Ashley was able to showcase her early results for more grant funding from another organization.
The result has been less work for Ashley and more engagement from students with a variety of learning and communication challenges. Empowered was pleased to help reduce her prep work and maximize her joy as student engagement grew.
Ripples of Impact
This transformation story is not “just” about a non-verbal student — it was about Mutual Benefit. Not only did Ashley’s non-verbal student get more involved, their peers got to “hear” from them and their perspectives.
Ashley’s approach is not only transforming education for her students but also embodies Self-Actualization. As she tapped into her creativity and abilities to grow inclusion, she was improving her unique gifts that will benefit every student this year and every year.
Through Ashley’s innovative approach to teaching, we see how the principles of human progress—Dignity, Openness, Bottom-Up, Mutual Benefit, and Self-Actualization—can transform not just a lesson, but a student’s entire experience.
USEFUL LINKS
- Click here to learn more about Empowered
- Click here to join the Empowered Community/access free resources
- Click here to share your classroom stories on “Teacher Talk” inside Empowered Hub
