About Us
Learn more about our mission, history, founding team, and funders.
Mission
Inclusion refers to the full and active participation of young children with disabilities in everyday settings. The success of inclusion depends on efforts that go far beyond simply allowing children with disabilities to be in classrooms with other children who are typically developing. The Head Start Center for Inclusion (HSCI) was founded on a commitment to support early childhood educators in their efforts to create inclusive learning experiences for all children.
History
Funded by the Office of Head Start and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2008-2011, HSCI was established at the University of Washington to systematically address barriers to effective inclusion by increasing the competence, confidence, and effectiveness of Head Start program personnel to fully include children with disabilities. For over a decade, The Head Start Center for Inclusion has been a trusted source for high-quality, evidence-based, inclusion resources and supports, and the demand continues.
Based on current research about the inclusion of children with disabilities and effective professional development, HSCI aims to improve the practice of early childhood educators by:
- Providing information, materials, training, and innovative web-based learning opportunities on family-centered support and evidence-based instructional strategies.
- Offering innovative professional development opportunities to local Head Start programs.
- Learning from Head Start programs about the factors that lead to the adoption, fidelity, implementation, and sustainability of effective inclusion practices.
- Coordinating with OHS-sponsored training and technical assistance providers to provide ongoing consultation on effective practices to Head Start programs across the country.
- Ensuring that all Head Start programs across the nation have unfettered access to the tools and learning materials that HSCI has developed, thanks to the grant.
Currently, Cultivate Learning and the EarlyEdU Alliance at the University of Washington maintain the HSCI site, and new resources continue to be developed.
The HSCI Founding Team
Gail Joseph
Founding Principal Investigator
Susan Sandall
Co-Principal Investigator
Ilene Schwartz
Investigator
Lindsey Lawrence
Curriculum Specialist
Kristin Ainslie
Curriculum Specialist
Rene Press
Artist
Acknowledgements
Funding from the Office of Head Start and contributions from the National Center on Early Childhood Development Teaching and Learning enables Cultivate Learning and the EarlyEdU Alliance at the University of Washington to maintain the HSCI website and develop new resources to promote inclusion.
© 2024 Head Start Center for Inclusion, University of Washington
Funded by the
Office of Head Start Department of Health & Human Services
This website was developed with funds from Grant #90HC0012 for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, and the Office of Child Care by the National Center for Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning. This resource may be duplicated for noncommercial uses without permission.