The Kentucky Peer Support Network Project is pleased to announce that our pilot school of the month for December 2015 is King Middle School in Harrodsburg! King Middle School has been a pilot site since fall 2014 and has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to expanding friendships and inclusive activities for their students with developmental disabilities. Watching King’s school culture grow and change has been truly remarkable.
King Middle School currently has peer networks functioning for thirteen (13) students with disabilities in their school (focus students). These students meet weekly with their peer networks, a group of five (5) to seven (7) peers, during lunch. This time allows the students a chance to catch up with one another, play a game, do an activity together, and just hang out and talk. King Middle School also has peer supports in place for two of their focus students in their science classes.
While these activities are all that are required of King as a pilot school, they have gone above and beyond the call of duty with their additional initiatives. King Middle School has allowed all of their focus students and their peer network members multiple chances to grow and learn together as a large group. In the 2014-2015 school year, King students played a major role in the school’s Veteran’s Day program. They also distributed commodities to senior citizens during the holiday season. King students worked together on a service learning project where they made fleece blankets to distribute to those in need. This year, King students visited the local elementary school to read stories to kindergarten classes. Bryony Rowe, school psychologist and site team leader, mentioned that one focus student’s younger brother was in the kindergarten class and described how proud he looked to see his sister reading to his classmates. This month, King students will all travel to Louisville to enjoy a day at All About Kids recreation center.
We are proud to work with dedicated educators like the team at King Middle School. Students at this school are making a difference in each other’s lives and are building meaningful relationships at the same time. Be sure to check our blog each month to read about more pilot schools of the month!