October is Disability History and Awareness Month in Virginia. Here at Westlawn we honor those with disabilities and promote equal opportunities for all. We recently asked our special education team to share the ways in which Westlawn supports those with disabilities. Here is what they shared with us:

• Students are instructed in the best environment to meet their needs. Different structures are used to meet specific needs. For example, sometimes students are pulled into a temporary group--even for 10 minutes--where they work with a teacher on a very small skill. Then, when they rejoin the larger group, they can apply their new knowledge to make sense of the larger group topic.
• Teachers regularly collaborate to ensure that the optimal learning environment can be created for each student. For example, classroom teachers are the experts of the classroom and “captain the ship” by ensuring that subject area lessons are created and implemented in a way that meets FCPS criteria. Special educators work with teachers by taking those plans, analyzing them, and creating materials to help students meet the common classroom goal. Special educators might work to build background knowledge, provide support with organization, or break large tasks into a series of smaller units.
• Westlawn has a dedicated special education department chairperson, Mrs. Ashley Claros. Mrs. Claros has significant experience working as a special educator, and she is always available to mentor her team. Additionally, Mrs. Claros is an organizational wizard, and her structures ensure that the special education team stays abreast of paperwork so that district, state, and federal requirements are met.
• Special educators use strengths-based language when talking with and about students. For example, a special educator at Westlawn will always start talking about a student’s skills and capabilities when asked about how the student is doing. Starting the conversation by listing a student’s strengths ensures that all conversation partners can focus on the next steps that a student needs to take to increase those strengths and build new ones. In other words, everybody in the conversation discusses things from a growth mindset, which allows them to create a plan to help each student move forward. Additionally, special educators are experts at leveraging a student’s strengths to support their areas of growth, ensuring that students are able to demonstrate their learning in less-conventional ways.
• Westlawn students are accepting, encouraging, and incredibly helpful toward one another. It is common to see Westlawn students include their peers with disabilities in conversation, in games at recess, and at their tables during lunch.

Westlawn students with disabilities totaled about 19% of the Westlawn student population in 2023-2024. Students with disabilities are in every classroom, and Westlawn’s team of special educators works to ensure that their needs are met and their learning is celebrated. Stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook pages to learn why our special educators chose to work with this special population of students. If you have any questions about the special education process or special education at Westlawn, please contact Mrs. Claros.