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The St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program at St. Mary Catholic Central High School was officially established in the spring of 2018. A long-time "SMCC family" approached school president Sean Jorgensen and school principal Jason Linster about the possibility of beginning an inclusion program at St. Mary Catholic Central. The family had two children previously graduate from SMCC, and their dream was to have their youngest child, who has Down Syndrome, also graduate from the school.

After months of research, speaking to school administrators, university professors and researchers, and learning from experts in the fields of special education and inclusive education, the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program was developed after approval from both the SMCC School Board and the Archdiocese of Detroit. The program's first director, Kyle McElvany, a 2005 graduate of SMCC, was hired in July of 2018 and quickly began working with school administration to further plans for the program.

The St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program is a certificate-based program but also has a "Modified High School Diploma" track depending on a student's independent testing through our local county I.S.D. and previous test result recommendations. Both pathways do allow for an inclusion student to obtain a job upon graduation or apply and be accepted to an inclusive college program.
While the students do receive grades, have academic support plans and goals, and participate in courses like any other SMCC student, they do not receive an official State of Michigan high school diploma when on a certificate-of-completion track while those students on a modified-diploma track will receive a "modified" State of Michigan high school diploma but they must fulfill all of the state of Michigan graduation course requirements. Mr. Kyle McElvany, our Inclusion Director, or a member of our administration would be glad to sit down and explain to you and your family the slight differences between the two pathways, what exactly each pathway includes and doesn't include, and student eligibility procedures.

Inclusion students are still eligible for services from our local I.S.D. upon graduation as long as they graduate with a Certificate of Completion, receive both speech and occupational therapy and social work visitation from the county I.S.D., and can maintain an I.E.P. through our local county I.S.D. for service eligibility purposes when the student is apart of the "certificate of completion" track. We now offer two different graduation tracks within the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion program.

The St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program first operated in a large classroom on the basement level of SMCC, next door to the well-established and successful Academic Support Program. This learning space provided a large enough area for both the Inclusion Program and Academic Support Program to operate side-by-side in a quiet learning setting. In summer of 2019, this learning space underwent a complete renovation that resulted in new classrooms, study areas for students of both programs, an ADA-compliant bathroom, and office space.

The program officially began in August of 2018 with two students, Jacob, a sophomore, and Zachary, a freshman. A team approach - consisting of school administration, the Director of Inclusion, and the parents of each student - created a custom curriculum to best fit each student's individual learning needs, strengths, weaknesses, and goals set by their respective families. Mr. McElvany also accompanied each student to their "core" classes for the first semester of this program.

The inclusion students' courses included Yearbook, Digital Art, Algebra I Concepts, Coordinated Science Concepts, English 9/10, Theology, Physical Education, Open Doors Math (utilizing an online software program to measure, track, and best serve the students' individual academic needs in mathematics), and Open Doors Study Skills (which not only served as one-on-one instruction in areas of academic deficits but also allowed time for lessons in life skills, goal setting, and career planning). Each student in the Open Doors Inclusion program has an individualized, tailor-made curriculum.

The St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program continued to take steps forward during its pilot year by continuing ongoing research; facilitating professional development training with experts from Texas Christian University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Notre Dame; and completing site visits to Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, California and Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The second component of the program - the Peer Mentor - was introduced at the beginning of the second semester of the 2018-2019 school year.

The Peer Mentor component of the program allows junior- and senior-level students at SMCC to serve as mentors for the inclusion students in their respective classes. Each potential peer mentor must apply to the program, obtain recommendations from faculty, be in good academic standing, and be interviewed by the principal and director of the program to have an opportunity to be selected as a peer mentor. A peer mentor is responsible for assisting the inclusion student with whom he or she is paired with note taking (when needed), verbal and/or non/verbal prompts (when needed), modifications of in-class assignments and tests (under the supervision of the program director), and communication with the parents of his/her inclusion student and the director of the program through the use of Google Classroom. For more information on the Peer Mentor component of the inclusion program, please click the "Peer Mentors" link in the above menu.

Inclusion students are allowed to participate in all athletic and extra-curricular activities, just like any other student at SMCC. Activities that our inclusion students have participated in or are currently participating in include Mock Trial club, soccer, intramural basketball, and manager for the varsity softball team. As of 2020-2021 school year, we also have students who participate in an after-school choir club and workout with the varsity football team.

The uniqueness of the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program that distinguishes it from other special education programs is the flexibility of the curriculum, the amount of input that families have into their students' educational paths, and the faith-based component that makes St. Mary Catholic Central so life-affirming. Our inclusion students attend Mass and other religious services with their peers.

Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, our inclusion students took courses such as Algebra I Part B Concepts, Geometry, Spanish, Psychology, English Language Arts, Yearbook, Digital Art, Physical Education, U.S. History, World History, Coordinated Science, Theology, Chemistry, and Open Doors Math (customized to their ability level). Inclusion students are able to participate in a variety of online courses through our partners at EDUcere such as Algebra II and Introduction to Social Media Skills. Inclusion students complete all core courses with the assistance of a peer mentor, while they complete electives without a peer mentor. Additionally, inclusion students complete all "Open Doors" courses with the Director of Inclusion, Mr. McElvany. Our inclusion students are welcome to attempt any course in the S.M.C.C. course catalog!

During the 2021-2022 school year, the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion program also began a successful "post-secondary internship" program for our inclusion students. If one of our inclusion students had a strong interest in a particular industry, with the cooperation and partnership of local businesses, an inclusion student could attend class at S.M.C.C. for the first 5 periods of their day, then after lunch, work at a paid employment position in the community. In one scenario, this led to full time employment for the inclusion student post-graduation including a full time insurance benefits and retirement package! Through our partnership with the Monroe County I.S.D., we also had students who utilized the services of a "Job Coach" who helped them secure employment, work on various professional and interpersonal skills that are key to success in the workplace in which we are proud to state that those students all maintained employment after graduation! During this time, particularly the 4th quarter of the academic year, our inclusion students work closely with Mr. McElvany to develop a resume, cover letter, and practice job-interview skills.

As the years continue, as of the 2023-2024 school year, we currently serve 7 students and have over 30 peer mentors! Since adding the Peer Mentoring component to the Inclusion Program in the spring of 2019, we have had over 100 students volunteer as Peer Mentors, including several 3-year and 4-year peer mentors who have a desire to work within the field of education, social work, or the healthcare field upon graduation from college.

For more information on the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program, please contact Director of Inclusion Kyle McElvany at [email protected] or 734-241-7622 ext. 187, Principal Joe Carroll at [email protected] or 734-241-7622 ext. 112. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
#YOU BELONG HERE

Above: MCES/SMCC Inclusion student Lauren Newcomb smiles at the beginning of "Open Doors Math" with Mr. McElvany (photo courtesy of Tom Hawley / Monroe News)

Above: Jacob, as a member of the Yearbook staff, taking photos at an SMCC football playoff game. (Nov. 2018)

Top: Special thank you to Mrs. Nancy Masuda for the creation of the St. Andre Bessette Open Doors Inclusion Program logo. Mrs. Masuda has been a strong advocate and supporter of the Inclusion Program since its very beginning in August of 2018.
Below: Jacob (Class of 2021) and Grace (Class of 2022), and Jacob and LaVell (Class of 2024) pose for pictures on Jacob's last full day of school in May of 2021

Who is St. Andre Bessette?

Andre Bessette, more commonly known as Brother Andre since his canonization as Saint Andre of Montreal, was a lay Brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross (the same religious order responsible for founding Monroe Catholic Central and the University of Notre Dame) and a significant figure of the Roman Catholic Church, especially among French-Canadians. St. Andre Bessette is credited with thousands of reported miraculous oil healings.

St. Andre Bessette was declared venerable in 1978 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree of sainthood for Blessed Andre on February 19, 2010, with the formal canonization taking place on October 17, 2010.

Do inclusion students have an I.E.P.?

Students in the inclusion program are eligible to maintain their I.E.P.s for services provided by the Monroe County I.S.D. (i.e. speech therapy, social work, and other services). Inclusion students have their academic goals transferred to a "non-public academic support plan" that serves the same function of an I.E.P. but is approved by the Archdiocese of Detroit and serves as a contract between SMCC and the student and his/her family.

Are inclusion students eligible to play sports?

Yes! In the past, students in the inclusion program have participated in bowling, cross country, football, soccer, track & field, intramural basketball, wrestling, and even as the manager for the varsity softball team.