Celebrating Inclusive Schools Week: Q&A with Burning Tree Elementary School
December 8–12 is Inclusive Schools Week. During this week, we celebrate the schools, educators, students and families who work every day to ensure that all children feel welcomed, supported and valued. Inclusive Schools Week highlights the importance of creating learning environments where every student—regardless of background, ability or identity—has the opportunities and access needed to thrive.
To mark the week, we invited several schools to participate in a short Q&A about what inclusion looks like in their buildings. Each school responded to the same set of questions, offering a glimpse into the practices, partnerships and commitments that help foster belonging and strengthen their school communities.
What does an inclusive school community look or feel like at your building?
At Burning Tree, an inclusive community honors and celebrates everyone's unique identity. We foster an environment where all students feel valued. It looks and feels like a place where learning, opportunities and experiences are present for all students. Our hallways are lined with student work.
What inclusive practices or programs are you most proud of?
We're proud that our inclusion model is built around shared experiences and seamless incorporation across the entire school. Our most successful practices include intentionally designing integrated, grade-level classroom pods throughout the building to foster peer interaction and friendship. We ensure all students participate together in activities like field trips, artist-in-residence, the BTES annual spelling bee, assemblies and other grade level experiences. Additionally, students have the opportunity for open seating in our upper-grade lunch periods which support community connection outside the classroom.
What is one thing your school does consistently to make all students feel welcome?
Our school consistently prioritizes student belonging and well-being by actively fostering a culture of acceptance. As a No Place for Hate School, we are committed to combating bias and bullying. We plan several school-wide activities that support our school goal of belonging. We also have grade-level buddy activities specifically designed to build strong relationships and ensure every student feels connected and welcomed by their peers. Our students serve as leaders in the building, having opportunities to join service groups, such as Kindness Krew, SGA and student ambassadors.
How do you involve families, staff or students in your inclusion efforts?
We partner with the PTA to ensure inclusion and connection extends beyond the classroom. Together, we work to organize events for all learners, such as a sensory-friendly track during Boosterthon and the Learning Center Movie Night. Furthermore, the PTA helps coordinate grade-level activities and structured playdates which helps to foster community.
For staff, inclusion is supported by scheduled weekly co-planning meetings where self-contained and general education teachers align their lessons for integrated subjects, ensuring necessary accommodations are built in from the start.