District 70 Students Taught Empathy Through Special Project

LIBERTYVILLE, IL – Libertyville School District 70 students will partner with students with disabilities this fall in a special yearlong program expected to create life-long friendships and enriched empathy skills. Third- through fifth-graders at Adler Park, Butterfield, Copeland Manor and Rockland schools will open their classrooms in the 2018-19 school year to students with physical and emotional disabilities and challenges in a new initiative with The Nora Project. District 70 is looking to buddy up with at least 15 special needs students for classrooms where teachers want to teach the Nora Project curriculum, according to a District 70 news release.

Families must be able to transport their children with disabilities, between the ages of 4 and 13, to and from the school for the program, school officials said.

“D70 is committed to increasing awareness, kindness and empathy among students while expanding inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities,” said Dr. Chris Otto, District 70’s director of special services. “Seeing commonality in our goals, the D70 Special Services Partnership Project, a committee consisting of District staff and parents, has pursued collaboration with The Nora Project.”

The Nora Project, created by Glenview teacher Amanda Martinsen, incorporates lessons on disabilities into the English and Language Arts curriculum and invites special education students as “guests” into a classroom during the school day several times a year, according to the news release. Martinsen created the program after her prematurely born niece, Nora, suffered brain damage after a corrective surgery and Martinsen was looking for a way to help.

The project’s mission is to teach empathy by sparking friendships between students and their peers with disabilities. Students work together through a variety of resources, discussions, interviews, and classroom play dates. In the end, students compile what they’ve captured to through photographs and videos to create a mini-documentary about each “Nora Friend.”

“It's no longer in dispute that for students to be prepared for life, schools need to take time to focus on their social-emotional skills and well-being,” said Laura Schrero Levy, president of The Nora Project and Nora’s devoted mother. “There are so many wonderful ways to do that. The Nora Project takes a unique approach that's fun for teachers and impactful for students. We use inclusion as a tool to promote friendships, the project allows students to talk about emotions, about values, and about their potential to connect with others and do good."

For District 70’s part, teachers are ready for The Nora Project.

“To me, more important than academics is the fundamental principle that we value all members of our community and show kindness to all,” said Rockland teacher Danya Sundh. “This project will do just that. Having taught both special education and general education, I have learned how accepting children can be when you are upfront and teach them. Instead of saying all students have different abilities, and if we learn from one another, our relationships and sense of belonging are stronger. All people want to be a part of something special, and the Nora project will bring us together to be a part of something extremely special.”

Among the District 70 teachers scheduled to participate this fall is Butterfield fourth grade teacher Julie Serrecchia.

“Although there is great joy in seeing my students grow academically, it is truly magical to witness them growing in acceptance and kindness,” said Serrecchia. “The Nora Project gives young students the opportunity for community outreach, raises their awareness and understanding of children with special needs, and most of all, teaches them the true meaning of friendship. I can’t wait to open our hearts and classroom home to our Nora Friends!”

The project is important to Terri Coughlin, a District 70 parent of a child with special needs and wife of school board member Chris Coughlin.

“I can’t say enough about how excited I am to have The Nora Project coming to D70 next year. I have always wanted my family to be part of a place where everyone matters, everyone is valued, and everyone makes a difference and where differences create curiosity instead of fear. I see this program teaching our kids powerful values and impacting our entire community forever.”

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