The Resilience of Changes Promoting Inclusiveness in an Urban Elementary School

Teachers at the school described in this article created an inclusive environment for all students. This 3-year case study focused on a school that implemented changes in the service delivery model for categorical programs and maintained this innovation in the midst of an administrative change, budget cuts, a teacher strike, and class size reduction. All teachers at the school were observed over the 3 years, and 14 teachers, 2 per grade level (K-6), participated in interviews. Results indicated that the inclusive education was sustained when the teachers shared the vision, resources were available, training was provided, and a culture of inclusion was created within the school.