Educators equipped with toolkits to aid students with disabilities

By Kailey Gahan, Development Coordinator for the Matthew 19:14 Project 

The Diocese of Tucson elementary school principals, interventionists, and teachers were recently invited by the Matthew 19:14 Project (TMP) to attend a toolkit training at the Bishop Kicanas Pastoral Center. TMP is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is “to provide Arizona Catholic schools with the resources and support for the success of students with special needs, because a Catholic education should be accessible to all students.” 

Thanks to a very generous $8,000 donation from the Santa Catalina Knights of Columbus Council 12345 a few months ago, the Matthew 19:14 Project was able to purchase large toolkits for the 18 elementary schools in the Diocese of Tucson, containing resources and materials to support the needs of children with a variety of disabilities. There are students currently attending all our schools with various exceptional learning needs. In addition to the Knights of Columbus donation, TMP also graciously received an event sponsorship from the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson, which allowed TMP to provide lunch, beverages, and more to the educators in attendance. 

Crystal Brooks, a volunteer board member for TMP as well as an expert trainer from Inclusion Solutions LLC, provided guidance and support to more than 30 educators and administrators about a variety of resources in their physical toolkits. Additionally, Brooks and TMP provided access to an online resource, Livebinder, that houses numerous websites, podcasts, videos, and the latest best practices to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The resources can be applied to several types of disabilities such as academic learning disabilities (ex. dyslexia), attention deficit disorder, autism, speech and language impairments, intellectual impairments, developmental disabilities, anxiety, and much more. 

Specific items in the toolkit included noise canceling headphones, several flexible seating options for students, weighted lap blankets, raised line paper and pencil grips, fidget tools, timers, reading highlighters, and several other essential items. “This toolkit has surpassed my expectations,” remarked the principal of Sacred Heart Catholic School, Roxanne Teran. Tracy Keating, a school counselor consultant for the diocese said, “These tools have overlap and can help and support so many students at our schools.” Jennifer Menke, an interventionist at Immaculate Heart School was excited to use these materials immediately to level the playing field and provide students with what they need to be successful. 

In addition to being trained on how to use these resources, attendees spent time learning how they can take the information they learned and further share it with their fellow teachers and staff members. St. Charles Apache Mission School attendees indicated that they were going to share the toolkit at an upcoming staff meeting at their school with a plan for their classroom teachers to check out the materials and start using them immediately to benefit their students. 

Sheri Dahl, the superintendent of the Diocese of Tucson Catholic schools expressed her gratitude to the TMP board members in attendance, “The level of expertise, passion, and practical experience you shared with us was very impactful and I have no doubt will spur further conversation, collaboration, and motivation as we move into our initiative next year focusing on inclusive practices in our schools.” 

TMP is grateful for the opportunity to provide the Diocese of Tucson schools with these vital resources and pray that more donors from the Tucson area will reach out and support our nonprofit so that we can continue to empower our Catholic schools. Please check out our website at https://matthew1914project.org/ and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for more information and to make a tax-deductible donation.