From April 10 to 12, the spring 2024 Urban Collaborative event was held in Downtown Portland. This national networking event brought together leaders from more than 100 school districts to increase effective and inclusive special education services. 

Urban Collaborative is a national network of more than 100 schools that are joined together to ” increase effective and inclusive special education services. They are also focused on decreasing the disproportionality of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations in classification rates, separate educational environments, and disciplinary actions” (Urban Collaborative Website).

The Urban Collaborative event is the convention of inclusivity. School districts in attendance have students sign up for a panel where they can present their knowledge and experiences with special education in a healthy environment. 

Wilsonville had three kids attend the event representing the West Linn-Wilsonville school district. Elijah Rasco, Grace Friedman, and Reagan Meister. Together, they ran a student panel about experiences in inclusive classrooms. 

Friedman, one of the student representatives, was enthusiastic about the event. She shared, “It was an incredible opportunity to potentially influence other schools to be more inclusive,” highlighting the event’s success in promoting inclusivity.

Principal Kelly Schmidt acknowledged the event’s impact on Rasco and Friedman. She noted, “Despite not receiving any college credit or community service hours, their participation was a testament to their personal growth and commitment to inclusive education.”

Something to note about the event is its lengthy time frame. The event’s itinerary included a full schedule of roughly 10 hours, including breaks. There is a lot to cover in just two days with so many schools eager to share their stories in a fully welcoming learning environment. 

That time also allowed the Wilsonville High School Capella group, “Soul’d Out,” to sing at the event, adding another performance to the list of various places Soul’d Out has performed. 

Special education has made spectacular leaps as organizations like Urban Collaborative and their attendees constantly push to improve schools nationwide. The movements made by leaders have stuck well and clearly shown a positive change in schools nationwide, especially in Wilsonville.