UPDATE (Nov. 8): This article has been clarified from its original Nov. 5 version with help from PVI staff. Note the changes below:

High school students, staff and local businesses have teamed up to establish a new way of learning for students with intellectual disabilities. 

Options at Paul VI Catholic High School pairs general education students, or peer mentors, and students with disabilities. The modified inclusion program means student participants receive their core academics in a designated Options classroom with inclusion in physical education, liturgy, lunch, home room and in elective classes, as well as extracurricular activities such as clubs, school plays and sports teams. 

Based on a holistic, Catholic, child-centered educational premise, the Options program is a copy of a model used for 25 years at Eastside Catholic High School in Seattle. At the time the PVI Options Program opened its doors in it was the only modified-inclusion program offered in the Catholic diocese of Arlington.  Today, John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries also has an Options Program. 

“Every part of the school embraces opportunities to integrate the Options students,” said Christina Desmarais, director of the Options Program. 

Over 125 general education students serve as peer mentors to the Options students, tutoring in academic classes, assisting with extracurricular activities, and helping the students in the Options Program develop appropriate social interactions. 

General education faculty works with students from the Options program in mainstreamed courses and welcomes them into extracurricular pursuits such as service clubs, choral music and drama. Office staffers provide work opportunities for the Options students, and support staffers all know the Options students.

The Boyd School and local businesses take picks up the program outside the classroom by providing hands-on job experience for Options students.

“As the students in the program mature through the years, they are assigned off-campus jobs, providing practical work experience,” said Desmarais. “We rely on the businesses in the local community to partner with Paul VI in providing real life work experience for our students. The Boyd School provides such an opportunity. It is a real blessing.”

“Two Paul VI Options students volunteer at The Boyd School,” said Victoria Kline, director of the Boyd School’s Fairfax campus. “They have the opportunity to work with all 40 of our Boyd School students that range from ages 3-6. The Options students from Paul VI help by being reading buddies, making copies, preparing art projects and assisting Boyd School teachers with any tasks they may need.”

This kind of partnership is a win-win," said Betsy Rhodes, Transitions teacher in the Options program. “This is very exciting for our Options students. They love working at the Boyd School. It has been a great opportunity to be involved in the community and provide a unique and rewarding experience for our students to help younger children learn and grow. The Boyd school has welcomed us with open arms and have been very accommodating. I hope this partnership continues for many years to come.”

Back at PVI, inclusion happens in the classroom and in the simple, daily interactions in the hallways. Memories are made daily and friendships are born which extend beyond the walls of the school.