Advocacy in Action
The Standards for Inclusive Schools is a groundbreaking roadmap for building inclusive schools. This blog post is focused on Advocacy — the third domain within the Standards.
The Advocacy Domain is grounded in this belief: Advocacy allows for reimagining and challenging the status quo. It seeks to impact lasting, systems-wide change. Anti-ableist schools must perpetually reflect on barriers to inclusion and advocate for belonging. The standards and objectives in this domain target practices that value advocacy for positive social change.
This domain centers learning from, and listening to, the perspectives of people most impacted by inaccessibility. This learning is grounded in civil rights history, including the disability rights movement. By understanding this history, the continued need for disability advocacy, and methods used successfully in the past, informed action can occur. By taking action with the people most impacted, barriers can be reduced and removed to work towards full participation and access.
How this works:
Educators can stay up to date on issues impacting students with and without disabilities through monitoring the news for legislative events, attending school board meetings, and taking action locally.
Educators can make advocacy plans, alongside students, to learn about issues impacting them and promote needed change in the community.
Students can share the impact of inaccessibility on their lives, by writing fictional or personal stories.
Students can engage in research projects focused on creating a community, which reduce barriers to access for themselves and others.
Educators who are interested in honing in on this domain or exploring more about the Standards can learn more by visiting our Standards webpage.
About The Nora Project
The Nora Project is a nonprofit organization on a mission to promote disability inclusion by empowering educators and engaging students and communities. We provide school-wide professional learning for educators, and Disability Studies-informed curricula for students in preschool through high school. Our ultimate vision is a new standard in education where diversity is expected and valued in every classroom.