Inclusion Practices: Building Community

by Torri Wright | February 18th, 2020

Torri interviews Jason Hobson, the Director of Student Services in Estacada, OR, about his work and perspective around inclusion and creating a sense of community for families who often experience isolation.

They discuss the inclusion practices that Jason's district have implemented, and how this can increase the level of community collaboration involved in educational systems. Torri touches on how a goal of this podcast is to help identify that there are silos [between systems] and talk about how we can start having cross-conversations. We are able to learn when we get curious and set our assumptions to the side. The complexities of collaboration are important to be aware of, and it is through conversation that we can bring more awareness.

Jason aims to build a shared ownership that their systems are in this process together. He asks, “how do we support all of those differences [in students] and value them as strengths?”. The Estacada school district has recognized inclusivity as a priority and funded their own inclusive-practice preschool. They acknowledge that they need to be a trusted support and system for families in the community. These are the types of foundational pieces that lead to bigger change later on.

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