Meeting Individual Needs: The Value of Inclusive Contests

Art educators typically have in mind their most talented students when they provide opportunities and plan local submissions for the many art contests that are available each year. I recommend that you take a second look at the entry categories or divisions—you may find often-overlooked categories for students with disabilities.

A New Learning Experience
When an announcement was shared with me this year for the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest, as an educator in the field of special education, at first I dismissed it, but as a former art teacher who believes that art is for everyone, I decided to take a second look at the divisions.

The contest was primarily for students in K–8, but I noticed that there was a division for K–12 special education. I thought to myself how much fun this could be for our students with disabilities.

I presented the idea to four special education teachers and they agreed that it could be a fun learning experience. In the process, students would use higher-order thinking skills across the curriculum: Understand (comprehend verbal and visual instructions), Apply (assimilate prior knowledge with new intent), Analyze (compare/contrast typical art with poster art), and Create (produce a poster that conveys a message).

Starting with a Slideshow
To introduce the School Bus Safety Poster Contest to students, I created a brief slideshow presentation that included simple guidelines about the contest, the theme, and words that were required in the poster design. Toward the end of the slideshow, I added several images of school buses from various angles to help students visualize possibilities.

I shared the slideshow with the special education teachers and visited each of their self-contained classrooms. We looked at the slideshow together, talked about entry guidelines, and discussed ways students might plan their posters. We also showed students samples to illustrate how a poster differs from a “regular” drawing. Students enjoyed the slideshow and were quite enthusiastic.

Incentives Abound
High-school students usually want to know what’s in it for them, so I told them about the large cash prizes for winners at the state level, and I also mentioned more immediate incentives I would provide, which included special recognition and award ribbons for all participants and cash prizes for our top five entries.

Posterboard and markers were made available for interested students. We allowed two weeks for completion of the posters, and I checked back regularly to offer support and see how everyone was doing. As the posters progressed, students were pleased to show off what they were creating.

When the two weeks was up, I invited our district transportation director to select several posters to take back to the Transportation Department for final judging. The bus drivers and school employees were excited to see students’ artwork, and they chose our first, second, third place, and honorable mention winners.

Student Recognition
After the selections were made, I went to the classrooms and individually recognized students who had participated, presenting each of them with a ribbon and a special bus safety pencil as their classmates and teachers clapped. The five students whose posters were chosen for first, second, third place, and two honorable mentions were invited to a district school board meeting where they were formally recognized and received a medal, a certificate, and a small cash award. General education peers and teachers shared in congratulating our winners—it was a moment of great pride for the students and their families.

Overall State Winner
The first-place poster was sent on to the regional level of competition where it received first place, and we were all thrilled. From there, it moved on to the state level, and not only did it win first place in division four for special education, it won the top prize for our state!

Even without such an amazing outcome, and though the process required some extra planning and a monetary investment for prizes, giving students with disabilities the same opportunities as their general education peers to transfer knowledge, display skills, and receive recognition for their work is invaluable. Inclusion works!