Changing Futures by Changing Education
Children with intellectual, developmental or physical disabilities are chronically underserved. Teachers do their best to meet the needs of these unique children but face significant challenges in the classroom, including:
- Few evidence-based educational protocols designed to best meet the diverse learning needs of children with disabilities
- Inadequate training and a lack of ongoing professional development crucial to equip teachers with the skills and strategies to create inclusive learning environments
- An absence of necessary specialized materials, assistive technologies and resources to support students with disabilities.
As a result, many students leave schools as young adults underequipped for life and dramatically underemployed. These students and young adults in Maryland and across the country deserve better. With refined, coordinated and best-practice approaches, every student can reach their potential academically, socially and behaviorally. And every young person can have the confidence to fuel their independence and lead a life filled with meaning and purpose.
Funding the Endowed Chair
Guiding the Center for Specialized Education Innovation will be a faculty member, a visionary leader who will oversee the strategic direction and operational management of a multidisciplinary specialized education center. We are seeking to endow the position for this new leader. The role will:
- Integrate research, medical practices, therapeutic interventions and educational programs to create a holistic and inclusive environment for students with special needs
- Envision and implement academic initiatives related to special education
- Support the preparation of future special education teachers Influence educational policy and practice at the state and national levels
- Derive, implement and disseminate evidence-based teaching and therapy approaches to help children with disabilities succeed both in and out of the classroom
- Build upon and sustain our existing bedrock of knowledge and data and transformative programs to lead the next generation of educators and researchers in developing and implementing evidence-based protocols that will dramatically impact the future of special education and change lives in Maryland, in the United States and throughout the world.
This prestigious position honors visionary educator Dr. Nancy Grasmick, whose decades of leadership in education include serving as State Superintendent of top-ranked Maryland Public Schools for twenty years, from 1991 until 2011, serving 24 districts, 1,424 schools and 869,113 students.
Creating the Nation’s First Specialized Education Hub
Kennedy Krieger is creating an innovative specialized education hub dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults with disabilities, from pre-K through young adulthood and beyond. The first of its kind in the country, this new Center for Specialized Education Innovation will use the best-practice approaches developed by Kennedy Krieger through our network of five schools. We have nearly 90 years of helping students with disabilities reach their academic, social and behavioral potential with the goal of enhancing each child’s learning and creating independence. Research—much of it written by Kennedy Krieger clinicians—shows that individuals with neurological differences often learn differently. With proven education approaches, supportive therapies and tailored training opportunities, they can lead successful lives with rewarding careers, enhancing workplace culture and increasing overall employee engagement. Kennedy Krieger is the only place in the world positioned to launch such an innovative and revolutionary center. Why?
- We have an unprecedented body of specialized education data.
- We have remarkable schools doing life-changing work, every day.
- In addition to special education staff members, we have a full team of related service professionals collaborating to meet the needs of every student: speech-language pathologists; occupational, physical, mental health, art and music therapists; and behavior analysts and technicians.
Why Kennedy Krieger?
We dream BIG here. We’re comfortable in uncharted territory. In fact, it’s where we do our best work. Kennedy Krieger has a long history of undertaking and harnessing new approaches to change lives. Education has been a part of our mission since our founding in 1937. Kennedy Krieger currently operates five nonpublic, special education day schools approved by the Maryland State Department of Education. We optimize each student’s individualized education program (IEP), preparing students to lead fulfilling lives and be productive members of their communities. Part of our big vision is expanding statewide. Currently we serve nearly 500 students each year. Thousands more students across the state, and hundreds of thousands across the country, need innovative, evidence-based, specialized education. Just imagine: Impacting the lives of all of these students through our model that brings together the disciplines of medicine, therapy and education in a groundbreaking way. There is no time to wait. The need is now. This is our moment.
We know the need is great, so the vision for the center and its impact must be bold.” – Dr. Nancy Grasmick