Student & Staff Stories
Learn more about our students & staff
Unified Basketball
NCSD News: Episode 19 - Where Smiles Mean More than the Final Score
It had all the dribbling, shooting, and cheering of a rival high school basketball game, but a recent afternoon contest between Milwaukie and Putnam high schools had fans excitedly rooting for both teams. By bringing student athletes together with and without intellectual disabilities, Unified Basketball proves it’s less about points on the scoreboard…and much more about encouragement, opportunity, and most of all…inclusion. Grab a courtside seat for all the high energy and high fives that come from attending this NCSD heartwarming hoops program.
Student Self Advocacy
In many ways, Gabriel Jumpingbull is just like hundreds of his classmates who graduated from Adrienne C. Nelson High School last spring. He enjoys meeting new people and asking questions about what they might have in common. He likes to snack on chips or crackers between assignments. He likes to send emails back and forth between his large circle of friends. And he loves laughing at adults while showing off his technology skills.
But Jumpingbull’s path after high school looks quite different than other 18-year-olds. Born with cerebral palsy, he’s never known life without a wheelchair. His snacks are sometimes eaten through a feeding tube. And although he realizes his speech is difficult for others to understand, he’d rather use his own voice instead of a talking device attached to his chair. Still, the ever-optimistic jokester rarely stops smiling as he navigates his power chair from table to table in one of two Adult Transition Program (ATP) classrooms located between NCSD’s Sabin-Schellenberg Center’s two campuses.
Ask the free-spirited teenager what he likes best about enrolling in the ATP after high school, and he offers a sly grin as his talking device utters a two-word answer: “No work,” the device reveals as Jumpingbull giggles.
Of course, he knows that’s not true. ATP serves 18-21-year-old NCSD students that require transition services from high school to adulthood by providing supports in employment skills and community access and engagement. ATP also teaches students to advocate for themselves, a skill Jumpingbull recently utilized after struggling to guide his wheelchair from one ATP classroom on Sabin-Schellenberg’s north campus to the other located across Johnson Road on the south campus.
“That road needs help,” Jumpingbull spelled out on his talking device by moving his eye gaze from word to word on his computer screen. “But I feel happy for now,” he added aloud.
He wasn’t so happy when the school year started, when he discovered that large bumps in the asphalt path leading off campus were impossible for his power chair to navigate, leaving him unable to move forward and causing his chair to make a loud squealing sound. “A horrible noise,” he emphasized word-by-word through his eye-controlled device. “Really loud.”
But Jumpingbull wasn’t going to be stopped by any bumps in the road. He took to his computer, and using his eye-tracking assistive technology, he emailed NCSD’s Facility Operations Supervisor Leif Palmer. “My name is Gabriel Jumpingbull. I drive a power wheelchair,“ the email started. “I cannot get over the bumps on the path from Sabin-Schellenberg North Campus. Can you make the bumps blue and repair the path please?”
Palmer was touched by the thoughtful student message, and immediately took action by personally visiting the ATP. “Meeting Gabe was awesome,” said Palmer, who also received a video attachment showing Jumpingbull’s struggles with the bumpy asphalt. “What stood out the most was his courage to articulate his needs. Self-advocacy is such a critical skill, and seeing somebody like Gabe stand up for himself is incredibly rewarding. I was motivated to make sure this repair made it to the top of the list to complete.”
Jumpingbull was thrilled to meet Palmer and know that his voice was being heard…except for one small piece. Although he asked for the bumps to be painted blue, “They painted them orange,” he pointed out with a laugh.
But thanks to the true colors of collaboration between an inspirational, self-advocating student and an NCSD department eager to help, don’t be surprised to see Gabriel Jumpingbull and an assistant carefully cruising along Johnson Avenue between afternoon classes. Just look for the big tires on his chair smoothly rolling along.
And an even bigger smile on his face.
Parent Perspective
Proud To Be NCSD Podcast/ Episode 44 - Students with IEPs: Inspirational Exceptional Parents
If you have students in school, you’ve probably heard your share of school-related acronyms, including I-E-P. An Individualized Education Plan serves as a vital connection between schools and families with students who need a little extra help with academics or behavior. But what exactly is an IEP, and how does the legal document help foster a trusting bond between families and school personnel? In this episode, meet NCSD parents Colleen Sackos and Sean Kriloff, who each have kids receiving Special Education services in different NCSD schools, and share their emotional story of how an IEP helps give their students an extra boost, and their families extra comfort.
Autism Behavior Specialists
Proud To Be NCSD Podcast/ Episode 27- Special Needs Are Their Specialty
North Clackamas schools welcome nearly 17,000 students through their front doors each morning, including hundreds of students with special needs stemming from Autism Spectrum Disorder. How do NCSD staff members ensure students displaying autistic characteristics feel welcome, excited, and inspired in each of our schools? That’s where this week's guests come in! Meet NCSD’s Autism/Behavior Specialists Genoa Hillis, Julia Hunter, and Amy Nielsen, who spend their days criss-crossing the district teaming with teachers, problem-solving with paraeducators, and, most importantly, inspiring all students to feel proud of how special they are.