During the May 2023 International Early Childhood Inclusion Institute, attendees at the session, “Living the Dream: Implementing Model Sites for Inclusion in Wyoming,” learned about that state’s successes in inclusion in early childhood education, particularly in early intervention and preschool special education programs. The conference, organized by a team from the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), comprised a variety of workshops about including young children with disabilities in a range of settings. FPG Technical Assistance Specialist Catasha Williams, MEd, and Senior Technical Assistance Specialist Sherri Britt Williams, MPH, led the “Living the Dream” session along with Children’s Developmental Services of Campbell County practitioner/teacher Christina Smith, MEd, and coach Natalie Terrell, MEd, who spearheaded the effort in Gillette, Wyoming.
 
A few years ago, the Wyoming team contacted Britt Williams and Williams with the dream to improve outcomes for children with disabilities. Through a series of phone calls, the group determined the outline of that dream, which resulted in state leaders using evidence-based practices (EBPs) with an implementation framework. During the Inclusion Institute, the Wyoming team and Williams and Britt Williams discussed how their work is: supporting teachers and other practitioners at model inclusion sites to intentionally implement the Division of Early Childhood Recommended Practices (DEC RPs) in inclusive settings; identifying specific practices selected for focus by practitioners and coaches; learning strategies to provide coaching support for inclusion and track implementation progress; and collecting strategies, resources, and tools used to support implementation of the DEC RPs.
 
The Wyoming team’s professional development plan for inclusion model programs was launched in the last quarter of 2021 when program leadership teams were formed. A year of planning and development followed, to ensure that support structures were in place at the local and state levels and that practitioners had the tools they needed to implement change within their program or classroom. The implementation framework includes support for practitioners from their teams, leadership, and community. While the project in Wyoming began planning for the pilot two years ago, active implementation began last summer. The next step has been to scale up the effort because they want to share this rewarding experience with other practitioners and families.
 
Distinct components were designed for program leadership teams, practice-based coaches, and teachers/practitioners. These included twice monthly open technical assistance support sessions, during which Williams and Britt Williams were available on a Zoom call, for both program leadership and coaches so they could ask questions and receive guidance. Training on inclusive practices is another key element of the program. Williams and Britt Williams also shared tools from the national level that Wyoming leaders could use and/or adapt for their work.
 
Many of these tools were created by FPG’s Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA), which provides a variety of technical assistance opportunities to support states in developing more equitable, effective, and sustainable state and local systems, that support access and full participation for young children with a disability, and their family. Britt Williams and Williams used tools for implementing DEC-recommended practices as well as tools from ECTA around inclusion and then tailored these tools to the specific contexts in Wyoming. During the conference session, practitioners commented on how transformative this work was, noting that the strengths-based approach, the ECTA Indicators of High-Quality Inclusion and other tools, and personal coaching had a tremendous impact on their classrooms.

“In the work we did in Wyoming, people saw that inclusion not only benefits the children who have a disability and their families but also everyone involved including all students, practitioners, and administrators,” says Williams. “The learning and growth that happens is exciting and valuable for everyone.”

Terrell and Smith say that the strengths-based approach has been an impactful component of the program. “The administrators really saw the value in this approach to the point it has been shared with much of our staff who work directly in the classrooms serving children with and without disabilities,” says Smith. “To hear staff talking about their own strengths and recognizing strengths in others has been positive to see. I look forward to this coming year as we move forward with using our own and each other’s strengths to improve our practices.” As a coach, Terrell found that the work with Britt Williams and Williams gave her direction for her observations and feedback to the practitioners.

The ECTA scales were used consistently to set goals and improve practices. “I found this tool valuable as it gave the practitioners and me a focus on next steps instead of using our ‘heart assessment’ of what we think or feel should be happening in high-quality preschool classrooms,” says Terrell.
 
Williams stresses the importance of the commitment of the Wyoming group to create change. “They are intentional about using these tools to achieve their vision, which is not an easy thing to do,” she says. “And they had a group committed to inclusion, including a cross sector state leadership team that came together to make connections across the early childhood space.”
 
Britt Williams echoes this and notes that while the Wyoming team had always engaged with families, through this implementation, team members put forth more intentional efforts to build relationships with families. “As the relationships among families, practitioners, and the program were strengthened, the practitioners learned so much more about the family, which gave the team more ideas about how to support the child and the family, which benefits all children,” she says.
 
Williams agrees, saying that she wants to “change the script” because inclusive practices are often seen as only being beneficial for children with a disability. “In the work we did in Wyoming, people saw that inclusion not only benefits the children who have a disability and their families but also everyone involved including all students, practitioners, and administrators,” she says. “The learning and growth that happens is exciting and valuable for everyone.”