Discover the life-changing power of inclusive education at the University of Washington’s Haring Center’s Experimental Education Unit (EEU). Through the eyes of families and students, this video shows how every child—regardless of ability—can thrive in a community built on compassion, connection, and opportunity.
Thank you to Shelter Films, https://www.shelterfilms.org/, for their videography.
Sen. Wellman tours UW’s Haring Center for Inclusive Education
A recent article in The Seattle Times highlights the urgent need for more early childhood educators in Washington state and the challenges posed by low wages in the field. The Haring Center for Inclusive Education continues to play a pivotal role in advocating for equitable pay and inclusive practices to support educators and families alike.
Read the full article to learn more about the current landscape and the ongoing efforts to strengthen early learning systems
In a workshop space brimming with inventive tools and metal walls that seemed to pulse with creativity, Dr. Kathleen Artman Meeker, director of the Haring Center, and a diverse group of educators plunged into an exhilarating challenge. It was 2022, and the setting was Reggio Emilia, Italy, where they participated in ateliers during a study abroad trip. The task was to transform an assortment of everyday materials into imaginative constructs. The room buzzed with a palpable mix of excitement and uncertainty as participants navigated the boundaries of their creativity.
When students who have disabilities arrive at Monroe High School, they’ve often spent nearly a decade learning that their differences mean they’ll be taught separately from their peers who spend their days in general education classrooms.
But that all changes when they start classes at Monroe High, northeast of Seattle, where school leaders have created a system in which all students learn in general education classrooms most of the time, regardless of their needs.
Read full story at Education Week
The Haring Center started the new year with a much-awaited fresh beginning. After 15 months of building renovations and nearly 4 years since most of our staff and researchers had to leave due to the pandemic, we’re finally back home.
This renovation was a true community effort, made possible by the support of both the Haring Center and UW community members.
We extend our gratitude to our key EEU staff for ensuring a smooth transition during our move. A big thank you goes to our incredible custodial team for preparing the building. Special appreciation goes to our construction partners, Mithun and Lease Cruther Lewis, whose commitment and timely completion of the renovation made this possible. And of course, we are immensely grateful to our donors whose contributions allowed us to open our doors this new year.
“To be able to be here again and hear voices in the hallway – being able to walk the halls and see the kids – it’s what we’re all about”
As you step into the new building, you’ll immediately sense the energy of our dedicated staff planning for the year ahead and reconnecting with new faces and spaces. Laughter echoes through the halls and play areas, reminding us of the joy of collaborating in a space filled with talented researchers, teachers, and development professionals, all working together to offer the best care and education possible. Staff spent the week preparing their classrooms, settling into new office spaces and breaking down an insurmountable number of cardboard boxes. As one staff member put it “It was an uplifting and emotional week, especially for those of us who have been with the Haring Center so long”.
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“I hear peals of laughter and remember the magic of working in this building.”
We’re excited to invite you back home. Join us on Saturday, February 10th, for our Grand Re-Opening Celebration as we toast to this new chapter. EEU alumni, friends, and families are warmly welcomed to be part of our community celebration and to usher in a new era for the Haring Center. Registration is limited so be sure to RSVP here.
Thank you to our generous donors who made the renovation possible!
The Sunderland Foundation / University of Washington / Alyssa and Bill Sunderland / Anu and Satya Nadella / Margo and Tom Wyckoff
with Ariane Gauvreau, Senior Director, Professional Development and Training and Kathleen Meeker, Research Director and incoming Haring Center Director
The opening of the newly renovated Haring Center will be the first time in over four years that the Haring Center research, professional development teams, and EEU staff and students will all be under one roof. We are thrilled to be coming back together as a team which will only serve to strengthen the work we do.
Q: Why is it important for your teams to have shared space at the Haring Center?
Ariane: We have really missed in person collaboration. Our Professional Development team has met in the community – at coffee shops, parks, and in our temporary space – but we miss being with our EEU and research colleagues. Being close to classrooms and our colleagues doing research lets us collaborate so much more.
Kathleen: I completely agree with Ariane. We have really missed seeing one another at the Haring Center. For the past few years, researchers have re-connected with one another in various campus locations. We’re grateful for the spaces we’ve had, but we cannot wait to be back in a space that’s made for the kind of work we do! Our smaller temporary spaces have meant limited opportunities for researchers to talk and learn across projects. We’ve been able to find meeting spaces and desk space, but we haven’t been able to bring everyone together—or bump into someone from a different research project and ask a question. Our work happens in relationships with one another, schools, families, and communities. Those relationships thrive when we’re physically together.
Q: How will the shared workspace impact your work?
Ariane: This will enhance our work immensely. All of our partnerships with schools and districts involve a team – sometimes we have just two people working on a contract, and other times there are six of us. Having a shared space where we can meet in person, easily create materials, brainstorm together, and discuss our work, will make the PD we do with teaching teams so much better.
Kathleen: I’m so excited to see all the benefits a new shared workspace has for our work! Graduate students, faculty, and research scientists will sit side-by-side and sketch out the next generation of research. Every grant that runs through the Haring Center is supported by a team—sometimes, over a dozen people work on a single funded project. A central part of our mission is preparing future researchers, and I think graduate student research will be transformed by the new space. They’ll have access to all the resources they need, on-site mentorship, and stronger relationships with our EEU and Professional Development colleagues!
Q: What are you most excited about when we return to the building?
Ariane: Seeing all the Haring Center staff and members!
Kathleen: As a researcher and a COE faculty member, I’m most excited about being able to pop into a classroom or an observation booth and see our College of Education students (future teachers) working with kids. And all the new ideas that get sparked in classrooms.
Q: What did you miss the most about working in the building?
Ariane: I think we are all ready to be done working from home! I miss seeing my colleagues in person, seeing kids, and seeing families.
Kathleen: I missed seeing and hearing children and teachers every day.
For Washington | All students have the right to be included in academic and social opportunities, not separated from peers based on disability or learning differences. Education experts from the UW’s Haring Center for Inclusive Education maintain a network of 16 public schools across the state that demonstrate exemplary practices in inclusive education, in what they call the Inclusionary Practices Project. This story is part of an ongoing series showcasing the impact of the UW across the state.
Highlights from the 2022 Haring Center Auction: Our House, Our History at the Don James Center at Husky Stadium.
Welcome to the 2022 Haring Center Auction: Our House, Our History, a night where the University of Washington’s Haring Center and the community join to celebrate and support inclusive education.
The On-Time Autism Intervention (OTAI) Project began in 2018 and is a collaboration between the Haring Center for Inclusive Education and the UW Autism Center (UWAC). Funded through a Seattle Foundation grant, OTAI’s goal is to increase equitable access to timely diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and evidence-based intervention for young children, specifically focused on children ages zero through three years, and their families across King County. OTAI’s work is guided by four pillars: collaboration, on-time autism diagnosis, on-time and ongoing parent navigation and support and on-time child-focused autism intervention.
“This project is like a dream come true,” said director for the Haring Center Ilene Schwartz. “It provides an opportunity for the Haring Center and the UWAC to work together, to learn together and to benefit children and families in the community. We can integrate the strengths of both centers and build something that neither one of us could have done alone”
Entry into autism diagnosis and intervention services before three years of age is often referred to as “early,” but this project seeks to use evidence-based research to show that services for children from birth-to-three years old should be considered “on-time.” Their primary focus is to increase access to on-time autism intervention for all children affected by autism, with an emphasis on addressing health equity disparities by developing a framework for reaching traditionally underserved populations. To best serve birth-to-three providers and families, the OTAI Project focuses on three main areas: diagnosis, intervention and navigation.
“We don’t see it as a one size fits all approach,” said clinical psychologist and director of clinical services at the UW Autism Center Jessica Greeson. “We really try to tailor to each of the communities that we work with.” Greeson leads the project’s on-time diagnosis work and partners with King County’s birth-to-three providers to improve identification of children who may need an autism diagnosis. “I can optimize the number of kids I see when I work with providers, and they offer me information about the child in advance. It’s about reducing the redundancy. Families have to fill out the same paperwork and say the same things over and over, and it’s particularly hard to do when English isn’t your first language and you have translators translating the same things that don’t make any sense the first time around. We want to make it really easy and efficient for families.”
“There’s not a clear trajectory of what to do next when you’re diagnosed with autism.”
Katy Bateman, Haring Center research scientist
“There’s not a clear trajectory of what to do next when you’re diagnosed with autism,” said research scientist Katy Bateman, who works at the Haring Center and focuses on the navigation aspect of the project. “With autism, they diagnose you, tell you what’s important and then you get put on waitlists and families have to learn how to navigate that on their own. Birth-to-three providers are often a family’s first contact on their journey in special education and we want to make sure that they have the knowledge, resources and skills that they need to help families navigate their diagnosis.”
One of the most recent resources for providers and families that has come out of the OTAI Project is the On-Time Autism Intervention Podcast. Started in September 2021, the podcast, hosted by UW Autism Center staff Ashley Penny and Jessica Greenson, is targeted at parents of children three and younger who are interested in learning more about autism, autism diagnosis and autism intervention and resources for young children. Many parents of young children diagnosed with autism have little or no prior experience with autism and are looking for information and answers to help guide their early steps in this new journey, in accessible and digestible ways. The On-Time Autism Intervention Podcast provide parents with relevant information about characteristics of autism in very young children (0-3) as well as strategies for pursuing services, and transitioning into autism intervention, special education and more.
“The goal is to provide parents with information that is easy to understand and specifically tailored to young children.”
Ashley Penny, podcast co-host and research scientist at the UW Autism Center
“The podcast is for parents of children under three and it’s a chronological podcast,” said Ashley Penny, licensed behavior analyst and research scientist at the UW Autism Center. “It starts with those first conversations with a pediatrician and what those sound like, when the pediatrician has concerns or the child has screened as having a high likelihood to have autism. Then, it looks at what birth-to-three referrals look like and the diagnostic evaluation process, what feedback sessions feel like and we have a couple of parent interviews discussing their perspectives through these processes. And we’re starting to move into what happens after diagnosis. The goal is to provide parents with information that is easy to understand and specifically tailored to young children.”
Podcast episodes also provide parenting mindfulness activities and cover common myths and questions about autism and highlights two more great resources for families and birth-to-three providers. The My Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Journey Guided Planner helps families plan their first caregiving steps and tasks as they adjust to their new role. This guided planner allows families time to reflect and create a plan that is personalized and specific to their situation. It also helps families navigate the complex feelings that accompany a new diagnosis.
The other resource highlighted by the podcast is the Autism Screening and Evaluation Decision Aid Booklet, which is a decision support tool for families and birth-to-three intervention providers and helps families and their care teams discuss next steps for their child who has recently been diagnosed with autism. The OTAI Podcast can be found an all podcast platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.
“It’s hard to overstate how much we have learned over the last 40 years about autism and how to support caregivers and families in the first years of life,” said director of the UW Autism Center Annette Estes. “But now we are facing an even greater challenge – how to get this information out to the community and how to ensure the high-quality services that reflect everything we have learned over the last 40 years are available to every family, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay or the language they speak at home.”