Meet the Coordinator
Meet Kelley Corrieo, Inclusionary Practices Coordinator for ESD123. Kelley spent her first six years in education in early childhood programs that she describes as having varying levels of success with inclusion. When she began teaching life skills at the middle school level in 1999, she had an opportunity to work in a school environment that was committed to having the students in life skills participate in elective classes and school events. Kelley brought this experience and school culture with her five years later when she moved to the high school level. Students there were also included in a wide variety of elective and enrichment courses, and Kelley says she and her fellow teachers were able to get creative with student participation and engagement.
After 13 years at the high school level helping students and families transition from “school to life,” Kelley’s expertise in this critical transition landed her the job ESD 123 that led her becoming the Inclusionary Practices Coordinator for Preschool. Eventually the scope of her role was expanded to include supporting inclusion throughout ESD123's region in grades K-12.
“Inclusion is not about where you place students, it’s about how you treat them.”
Explains Kelley, "You can put a group of students with IEPs in a general education classroom, but if they are off to the side with their own grown-up doing different work, that is still exclusion. It’s just visible to the rest of the class. Inclusionary Practices allow ALL students to interact and learn together.”
Of her role with ESD123, Kelley notes that teachers face a lot of challenges in their work. “While many of them understand the importance of inclusion is can be a challenge. I like being a part of the solution and being a part of the process that makes the lives of teachers and students better.”
