Providing Disabled Students With Skills and Support for Finding Work

The Phoenix School of Discovery is an alternative school designed for students with learning and social challenges, with roughly half of students on an individualized education plan, or IEP. The school prioritizes hands-on learning, has multiple teachers in each classroom, and offers accommodations like sensory-friendly lighting and a space for “quiet lunch” for students who find the traditional cafeteria over-stimulating.

The Wisdom Hub Nursery and Primary School enrolls students alongside those who are differently-abled, allowing them to learn in the classroom together. The combined classroom approach teaches students to embrace diversity, nurturing an inclusive educational environment where each child can thrive. The Wisdom Hub opened in 2013 and has since seen over 300 children with special needs cross into secondary school.

The Covina-Valley School District in California reduced high school drop-out rates and chronic absenteeism among special education students by providing a more engaging environment and curriculum for students. Students are divided into three levels based on their levels of cognitive competence, and educators rewrote textbooks and curriculum to fit the varying needs and capabilities of students within each level, as opposed to putting all special students in one level. Another successful approach has been to combine general and special education staff meetings and increase curricular collaboration.

A nonprofit organization, the Internationals Network for Public Schools, delivers a first-class education to the children of illegal immigrants, helping to break the cycle of poverty and provide them a path to advance in life.

Nebraska’s Journey to Inclusion program focused on providing educators with training and resources to help schools keep more students with disabilities in general classrooms rather than separating them in specialized classrooms. Since implementing changes, the state has seen proficiency rates and graduation rates rise among students with disabilities.

Lumen High School enrolls pregnant and parenting teens, providing a “learn-as-you-go” approach to learning that makes it possible for them to parent and stay in school. The school provides full-day child care, free baby supplies, mental health counseling and other supports to help get students to graduation day. All the Lumen High School students who graduate have been accepted into college, with 95% enrolling or choosing to start working within the six months after graduation.

The KNOSK secondary school is working to reduce the number of out-of-school youth in Nigeria by providing students with a quality education for a daily fee much lower than other school options. The school offers various payment plan options and gives the students uniforms, lunch, and sanitary products.

The Destiny Trust performs outreach in slum settlements and encampments to connect homeless children with residential housing and get them enrolled in school, sometimes via placing them in boarding schools. Through fundraising and partnering with other groups such as religious organizations, the nonprofit has sponsored the education of nearly 3,000 children since launching in 2012.

Steele Academy is "Montessori education for students who don't normally get it," according to Laura Christenberry, the driver behind San Antonio's first public Montessori school. Drawing on detailed census information, leaders at the combined preschool and kindergarten ensure that 50 percent of the population comes from the bottom of the income spectrum. Now, the challenge is building trust and making a diverse group of families aware of the nontraditional model.

At Lakeside School, the structure of the day is designed to support students managing trauma. These include activities before school starts, means to reduce excess energy by fidgeting, and ‘brain breaks.’