Going home: General and special education teachers' perspectives as students with moderate/severe disabilities return to rural neighborhood schools

The perspectives of general and special education teachers were gathered as they were experiencing the initial year of the return of students with mod erate/severe disabilities to three rural neighborhood schools. Interviews w ere conducted to gather teachers' perspectives at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. Themes that persisted across teachers and across d ime were identified and are illustrated through extensive teacher quotes. T he teachers' perspectives of what was occurring as they attempted to includ e the students were compared/contrasted across the three schools, as well a s to critical elements of successful inclusion identified in recent literat ure. Disparities Between "what is" versus "what should be" in including stu dents with moderate/severe disabilities into neighborhood schools were disc ussed.