1 Outdoor School Camp Waskowitz Highline School District Tips for inclusion of Special Needs Students with Physical Challenges Winter 2009 Compiled by Bill Iwen, PT Special Services Department

2 Key Points to keep in mind: Communication is the key to success!! Communicate with Camp staff a student’s needs as early as possible to explore ways to support them in their Outdoor School experience. Be sure to include communication with Special Administration staff well in advance regarding additional staff/supports (i.e. special transportion) that may be needed! Camp staff can assist some with students (i.e. transporting students to lookout site when hiking is not feasible, assigning appropriate high school helpers to assist a student, provide some limited supervision/alternate activity in camp) but cannot be “in charge” of their program.

3 Key Points (cont.) Plan to attend weekend training for 6 th grade teachers (other staff may attend as needed). Consider having students/staff attend one day session (Pioneer Day) for 4 th graders to become familiar with Camp environment. Encourage families to attend “Open House” session (provided 3x/year) to see camp setting first hand. You may consider having 5th and 6th grade ILC students attend camp together to efficiently use additional support staff that may need to attend. Plan activities with other teachers that will allow students to trade groups and participate in activities they can do. View the district web site under schools – Camp Waskowitz - for additional information ( including additional facility info – trail map - pictures).

4 Outdoor School Layout The main campus area of Camp Waskowitz is relatively flat with gravel and some concrete/asphalt walkways. Most buildings have a level or ramped access point with the exception of some of the student cabins. Propelling wheelchairs will require moderate effort. Designated student cabins have ramp access (although somewhat steep), so students who self propel manual wheelchairs may need assistance. The recreation field is fairly level grass with some bumps/ruts. The trail to the 30 Acre Shelter is natural dirt and is fairly smooth. Across the river to the south are the main hiking trails. These are combinations of rough gravel or natural dirt. Many areas have wooden walkways or small bridges. These trails are fairly rough/uneven and are not generally suitable for wheelchair access. The following map shows the camp layout with links to various photos of the camp facilities. Holding the cursor over a number will give you a short description of the linked picture – clicking on the number will take you to a photo from that viewpoint. Click the center of picture to return to the map. (Clicking off numbers will take you to the # 1 picture.)

b2c 4 4b 4c b b South of the River - Trail examples > ^N^N 18 Entrance

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29 Camp Waskowitz – A beautiful place to learn !