Learn More About the Expanded Core Curriculum at ISBVI

By: Seth Johnson

The image shows a group of people sitting around a table, which is covered with a white tablecloth. They appear to be having a meal together. There are various food items and condiments on the table, including a banana, a jar of peanut butter, a bottle of ketchup, and some bread. The people are engaged in eating or talking, and they are seated in a room with light-colored walls and windows with blue and white checkered curtains. As the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) coordinator, Judy Reynolds plays a vital role in equipping students at Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) with the skills they need to be independent.

Having worked at ISBVI since 1994, Reynolds began her role as ECC coordinator two years ago after holding a variety of other teaching positions at the school. While she’s only held the position for a short amount of time, Reynolds’ ECC training dates all the way back to 1996, when she attended a conference in Austin, Texas, headed up by Dr. Phil Hatlen.

“It wasn’t until two years ago that they gave me the position of coordinator,” Reynolds says. “But in the meantime, I met all of these people that were important in the field of ECC.”

To help ISBVI students sharpen their ECC skills, Reynolds has constructed a lab where students can work on skills like making the bed, setting the dinner table, and more. Currently located at IPS School 83, the lab resembles a small apartment with all sorts of home furniture.

“A few years ago, when they said, ‘Okay, you’re going to coordinate the ECC,’ I said, ‘Alright. Well, we need a hands-on lab because we have to teach them these things,’” Reynolds says.

Originally laid out by Dr. Phil Hatlen, the ECC consists of nine key areas, including Assistive Technology, Career Education, Compensatory Skills, Independent Living Skills, Orientation and Mobility, Recreation and Leisure, Self-Determination, Sensory Efficiency, and Social Interaction Skills.

“If 80% of learning is done visually, then think of all the things that our kids are missing from just not being able to watch other people,” Reynolds says. “The idea was, ‘What are the areas our kids need that you learn visually?’ And that’s what prompted the ECC.”

In the photo, there is a woman standing in front of a wooden door, wearing a red outfit. She is surrounded by a decorative arrangement of balloons in red, pink, and white colors. The balloons are attached to a circular frame. In front of the woman, there is a sign that reads "#ShareTheLove" with two red hearts and a smiling face with heart eyes emoji. The setting appears to be indoors, with tiled flooring and a decorative wall in the background.According to Reynolds, the ECC truly makes ISBVI stand out from other schools.

“Public schools probably teach career education and some independent living skills, but we have to teach it directly to our kids,” she says.

At the end of the day, Reynolds hopes the ECC can empower students to live their best lives after graduation.

“With ECC, the goal is for them to be equal to their sighted peers and to be able to live independently as best they can,” she says. “That’s why I think it’s so important that we do this.”

 

 

 

 

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