Oregon Inclusion Initiative

Early Learning System Initiative

Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families

The Oregon Inclusion Initiative was developed to implement and improve access to high-quality professional learning opportunities, coaching, and training to ensure early care and education providers have the comprehensive supports needed to fully include children who experience disabilities in their programs. 

About

Download a one-page introduction to the Inclusion Initiative:

English | Spanish | Chinese | Russian | Vietnamese

Background

The Oregon Inclusion Initiative was created through an agreement between Oregon State University and Oregon Department of Education’s Oregon Early Childhood Inclusion.

The initiative is designed to support  and address the needs of infants, toddlers and children experiencing disability. It is housed in the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families at Oregon State University in Corvallis Oregon.

Purpose

To scale up, sustain, and coordinate evidence-based professional development and coaching efforts by supporting high-quality inclusion at the state and local levels.  

Ensure early care and education providers have the comprehensive supports and dialog  needed to fully include children who experience disabilities in their programs.  

Implement evidence-based practices that have demonstrated positive child outcomes.

Goals

Build on current high-quality inclusion and pyramid model implementation efforts.

Provide access to high quality workshops, coaching, and professional development to families, early learning system partners at the community level, within programs, and with the early learning workforce.

Team

 

 Bridget Hatfield, Ph.D.

Bridget Hatfield, Ph.D. (PI)

Associate Professor

Bridget’s work examines ways in which teacher-child relationships and classroom quality are associated with children’s activity in the stress response system and their behavior.

Megan McClelland, Ph.D.

Megan McClelland, Ph.D. (Co-PI)

Katherine E. Smith Healthy Children and Families Professor, Hallie Ford Director for the Center for Healthy Children and Families

Megan’s research focuses on optimizing children’s development, especially as it relates to children’s self-regulation, early learning, and school success.

Sam Logan, Ph.D.

Sam Logan, Ph.D. (Co-I)

Associate Professor

Sam's research agenda focuses on the health and wellbeing of typically developing children and children with disabilities, with recent work emphasizing the role of independent mobility in the development of language, cognition, play interactions, and motor behaviors of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, and other significant physical and cognitive diagnoses. His research is interdisciplinary in nature, bridging the fields of Kinesiology, Psychology and Pediatric Rehabilitation.

Will Massey, Ph.D.

Will Massey, Ph.D. (Co-I)

Associate Professor

Will’s line of research focuses on the intersection of play, physical activity, and child development. His current line of research is dedicated to understanding how recess quality impacts healthy development in elementary school-aged children.

Chad Lahr

Chad Lahr

Inclusion Initiative Training Outreach Coordinator

Contact for: Outreach and resources for Oregon Inclusion Initiative, Oregon Early Childhood Inclusion Training & Professional Development, Oregon Pyramid Model, and the Oregon Early Childhood Inclusion Indicators

chad.lahr@oregonstate.edu

Dominic Paz

Dominic Paz

Implementation Manager

Dominic’s work focuses on strength-based practices, relationship-based supports to improve early educator professional practices. He accomplishes this through building authentic and meaningful connections with early education professionals.

Mackenzie Weintraub

Mackenzie Weintraub

Inclusion Initiative Training Outreach Coordinator

Contact for: All things Pyramid Model and Inclusion

mackenzie.weintraub@oregonstate.edu

Tammy Winfield, MS

Tammy Winfield, MS

Project Coordinator

Contact Tammy for invoice or contract questions and general inquires.

Nazli Ozkocan

Nazli Ozkocan

Graduate fellow

Rebekah Benkart

Rebekah Benkart

Graduate fellow

Resources

Current Activities

Mapping Early Learning Quality Improvement Resources for ECE workforce

The Inclusion team is currently working on mapping resources related to Early learning Quality Improvement training, technical assistance, consultation and coaching efforts across Oregon.

Want to help?

Survey (when it's finished)

Have questions about this?

Email us at ELSI-Inclusion@oregonstate.edu