2020 Ennis Recipient: Gina Seaton
/
Brenda Martin, Stephanie Svarz, Gina Seaton, Mark Luckritz
How to enrich Special Education by introducing students to the many educational and social benefits of studying and participating in the fine arts?
Rolling Meadows special education teacher Gina Seaton answered that question by creating the Fine Arts Workshop, a program that was implemented as a full-year course five years ago and has been changing lives ever since.
“I am truly so incredibly grateful to work with such an amazing team, being able to give students the space they need to practice their communication skills and grow from each other”
This theater class comprises an equal number of students with significant special needs and general education acting students. Students form an ensemble as they play theatre games, practice scene work and analyze non-verbal communication.
Using The Bully Plays, which focus on the many forms of bullying and the damage done, students study social situations and discuss appropriate behavior and social norms. This Fine Arts Workshop is a capstone course for students with significant needs because it enables them to apply real-world skills to various scenarios, in collaboration with peer mentors. And because students perform in the spring showcase for parents, they also earn their fine arts graduation credit.
Rolling Meadows’ Ennis nominating committee noted that, in addition to creating the workshop, Gina “has proven to be invaluable as the expert special education teacher who works with students on the autism spectrum. Her patience and strategies support all students being successful; she takes the lead by co-teaching with the mainstream acting teacher.”
Is there any doubt that the Fine Arts Workshop has created a safe and inclusive environment? Consider student responses to this program: “It’s a place where I feel accepted and safe,” said one. “I learned to be more open with talking about my disabilities and then to recognize bullying: the causes, effects and action,” said another. And finally: “I learned that a student’s disability does not define them.”
Gina modestly deflects credit for the program’s success to colleagues, saying, “I am truly so incredibly grateful to work with such an amazing team, being able to give students the space they need to practice their communication skills and grow from each other.”
READ MORE STORIES ABOUT OUR ENNIS NOMINEES:
