Mark's Story: A Story of Inclusion

The Institute's inclusive culture is detailed in its main planning documents:

• PAI 2024–2025: Reiterates that difference is an existential condition of the human being and a right to be welcomed.

• PTOF 2024–2025: Promotes the enhancement of diversity and the removal of learning obstacles related to disabilities and migratory backgrounds.

• RAV 2025–2028: Provides for the creation of innovative, flexible, and technological learning environments functional for personalized teaching.

  The school considers cultural diversity—with students of multiple nationalities present in Mark's class—as a resource and an asset in everyone's growth path.

During the 2022–2023 school year, in first grade, the class stopped at a villa for recreation during a theater field trip. When it was time to leave, Mark refused to get off the swing, explaining he had never been on one before and had never been to a playground. This episode powerfully represented his history of experiential and social deprivation.

• Family Background: Mark is Ethiopian and belongs to a class of 21 children that has been welcoming from the start. He is the third of six children; two adolescent brothers still live in Ethiopia with their maternal grandmother. In Italy, the family consists of the mother, father, and younger siblings.
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• Previous Schooling: He came from a municipal preschool where he was unable to follow a path suited to his needs. At the start of primary school, he appeared unschooled, with barely intelligible language, clear socialization difficulties, poor personal autonomy, and sudden, unmotivated crying fits.
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• Social Context: His parents Parents report some difficulties or discomfort that occurred during preschool.. The father expressed deep disappointment that the need for evaluation was only communicated in April of the final year. The family lived in deep socio-economic hardship: the father worked in a subway cleaning cooperative, while the mother was unemployed and caring for the younger children.

Strengths ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Initial Critical Issues

Tenderness and sweetness ​ ​ ​Lack of previous schooling

Willingness to learn ​ ​ ​ ​​Intelligibility of language

Joy of life ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​Socialisation difficulties

Strong empathy with teachers ​ ​ ​Poor personal autonomy

Inclusive Methodologies and Strategies 

The school employed several strategies to support Mark: 

• Group work and peer tutoring.
• Experiential learning.
• Positive reinforcement and sharing progress.
• Use of technology (LIM, PC).
• Prompting and Fading techniques.
• Psychomotor activities and use of the school garden as a relational space.
• Seating: Mark's desk was placed in the central island to favour interaction and
• visibility. 

Daily Routines and Workshops 

Mark was involved in structured routines:

• Morning Greetings: Initially teacher-led, then student-led, often with songs or mimed alphabets.
• Canteen Time: Assignments of responsibility like clearing tables.
• Organization: Independent management of school materials.
• Music Workshops: Used an analog method with simple symbols (dots and
• crosses) instead of traditional notation, allowing full participation. This included body percussion and simple instruments like tambourines and maracas.
• Manual Activities: Manipulative and graphic-pictorial activities helped develop fine motor skills and self-expression.

The school worked in parallel to support the family:

• Employment: Through a collaboration with a cooperative at the hospital, Mark's mother began working. She eventually secured a permanent contract, which, combined with family allowances and disability benefits for Mark and his younger brother, stabilized their income.
• After-School Support: The Institute collaborates with local parishes and retired teacher volunteers for assisted study paths.
• Administrative Support: The school assists the family with residence permit renewals and documentation for exemptions (transport, canteen, medical visits).
• Social Services: Services monitor the family and assist with the search for a larger home to facilitate family reunification with the siblings in Ethiopia.
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Systemic Barriers and Facilitators

• Barriers: Poor preschool experience, socio-economic hardship,
• language/cultural barriers, and late evaluation.
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• Facilitators: Inclusive strategies based on UDL (Universal Design for Learning), flexible classroom organization, strong coordination between school figures and local entities, and a multicultural, welcoming class group.
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Currently in fourth grade, Mark is a polite child who respects rules and manages his materials independently. His attention span and socialization have improved significantly. A major milestone was his enthusiastic participation in an overnight school camp. 

Seeing Mark play freely in the garden and express his thoughts in comprehensible sentences marks his inclusion as an authentic success for the school. The phrase "It takes a whole village to raise a child" has become a daily reality for him.

The teaching team—composed of four regular teachers, two support teachers, and two OEPAC—learned that inclusion is the result of synergy and responsibility. It requires identifying and removing barriers, recognizing diversity as a resource, and practicing equity: "giving more to those who have less". 

Table of Inclusion Experience Results