Taking Student Integration to the Next Level

By: Kristel Barr

Every parent wants their children to grow up and learn how to live independently and that can be a challenge.  However, it can be an even bigger concern for parents of students with disabilities.  Schools have stepped up to the plate and partnered with families to aid in the post-secondary transition as best they can.  One school district is trying a unique approach to extend authentic learning experiences to students as they prepare for life after high school.

The Raymore-Peculiar School District is in the southern part of the Kansas City Metro.  It is a unique combination of a suburban and rural town and serves approximately 6500 students from early childhood through 12th grade.  The district has been a part of the Kauffman Foundation’s Real World Learning Initiative since its inception and has been dedicated to providing those types of learning to students.  In the 2024-2025 schovol year, district leaders began to tackle the question of how to provide authentic learning experiences to all students, including those with a high level of special needs.  The idea of having an actual house on the high school’s property took root.  A house would provide a much more authentic experience than the current functional living skills classroom because so much more would be involved in the upkeep of a house versus a classroom.  For instance, in a classroom a custodian takes out the trash every night; that is not what happens when you live in a house.  

There are other districts that have houses so this was not a unique idea.  What made this concept different was the district’s dedication to the integration of regular education students with special education students.  This started from the very beginning.  

• Interior design students were included as a part of the architectural design team and had an equal voice in the design of the house.
• A female student was hired to be the Construction Management Intern and worked daily with the district’s Director of Facilities through every step of construction.
• Students from the district’s multiple trades programs worked in the house and installed electrical and HVAC components.   
• Teams of interior design students were each given a room in the house to design, worked with the district’s furniture vendor as well as the special education staff and students to ideate and then pitched their design ideas to a group of teachers and administrators; those designs were used for those rooms in the house.
• Teams of botany students were asked to research and design gardens for the house with the goal being the best design will be implemented once the house is ready.

Having students work on the house as a part of real world learning was in itself, powerful.  Even more powerful was the learning that occurred.  Interior design students conducted in-depth interviews with special needs students as well as occupational and physical therapists so they could learn how to best design spaces that took into account students in wheelchairs or with limited mobility.  Botany students had to consider plants that were easy to maintain over time.  Trade students felt their impact.  One student, Ethan Beedle, a junior in the district, stated, “I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like it feels meaningful in the way we get to build this not just for regular people, but somebody who actually needs it.”

The house was recently completed and “open for business” with the dedication occurring on September 11, 2025; it only took 14 months from the inception of the idea to the celebration of a finished product.  The dedication will not only focus on the uniqueness of the concept, but also on the multitude of companies who donated to this effort, making it truly a community project and one that presented minimal cost to the district.  But the journey is not over; the integration will continue.

• Regular education students were asked to apply to be peer mentors to work with the special education students in the house as well as in other classes.  These mentors will teach students how to clean, do laundry, make beds, etc.
• Home maintenance students will be asked to help the students learn the basic concepts regarding the upkeep of a home and general repair.
• Industrial technology students will be building raised garden beds so the peer mentors can work with the special education students to plant a garden and, eventually, learn how to cook ‘farm to table’.  Students from culinary classes will also be folded in to aid in this task.  
• Art students will be partnering with special education teachers and students to create pieces that will compliment the decoration of the home.

These are just a few examples; the district is confident more ideas will surface as the excitement about the Integrated Learning House grows and as teachers begin to think about how their students can contribute in authentic ways.  And the students’ reactions?  One of the district’s instructional coaches, Christin Mitchell, was on-site the first day the students were in the house.  “…the students’ reactions were that the house was amazing-even the regular education students were impressed with all the spaces and the ways kids will learn…several kids didn’t want to  leave after the tour and they can’t wait to get back to it…This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in education.”

Of course, not every district can build a house but that is not where the magic is in regards to this project.  The magic is in listening to student voice, providing real world experiences, teaching students how to experience authentic empathy and integrating populations that are all too often separated.  How can trades students work with special needs populations to teach them skills?  How can a peer mentoring program be leveraged to provide enriching experiences for all students?  These opportunities provide the growth our students yearn for and deserve.  For additional information, go here.

Kristel Barr is the Chief Academic Officer, Curriculum & Instruction for Raymore-Peculiar School District.