Thriving together: Community School Pioneers Sustainable Learning Model for Children With Special Needs

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.

Pre-employment transition services are designed to support high school students with documented disabilities by helping them explore potential careers, gain valuable work experience, and develop crucial life skills they’ll need to succeed in the workplace. For one student in Utah, participating in the program helped him secure a job on the path to becoming a mechanic after graduation.

Dolly Stars School is a tuition-free school run by the Dolly Children Foundation, which helps students who have been out of the education system get back on track with their studies. The foundation has programs in 30 communities that have reached more than 23,000 out-of-school children.

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.

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.

In an effort to better support its youngest learners, Mississippi implemented sweeping education reforms, including introducing a standardized “science of reading” curriculum, providing more teacher training and support with in-school literacy and math coaches, and holding back third-grade students who don’t meet their reading skills benchmarks. Over a decade, the number of students reading at grade level has climbed from 12 percent to 35 percent, and the state now ranks among the top ten nationally for fourth-grade reading scores.

At East End Community School, teachers and administrators work to combat chronic absenteeism by building a “culture of attendance,” with celebratory ceremonies for students with high attendance, monthly attendance reports for parents, community dinners, students raffles, and individualized, shame-free check-ins for families struggling to get their students to school. The school’s rate of chronic absenteeism has dropped from 25% to 13%.

Batibot Early Learning Center is a progressive daycare center that offers “socialized tuition” based on what families earn, making it easier for lower-income children to access early childhood education. The center enrolls 25 children and prioritizes hands-on support and therapy for children with developmental delays.

Schools in Adamawa State are increasing the number of female teachers, which is inherently increasing the number of female students attending school. Previously, over 50% of girls in the area had not been in school, or dropped out, but with the increase of female teachers, the number of girls in school has dramatically increased.

Norway’s approach to early childcare, rooted in its Kindergarten Act, prioritizes inclusivity and the value of childhood and unstructured play, where children receive social, emotional and cognitive support. Evidence suggests long-term positive impacts, including improved academic and workforce outcomes when they reach adulthood. Investments in the country’s unique approach to childcare and kindergarten contribute to Norway's top global rankings in child well-being compared to other countries like the U.S.