This Disability Awareness Month, schools throughout the Plainfield Community School Corporation embraced March with enthusiasm and purpose—weaving education, creativity, and compassion into the fabric of school life. From elementary hallways to high school common areas, students and staff participated in activities designed to cultivate empathy and affirm the belief that every individual belongs. Each building brought its own unique energy to the month, demonstrating that inclusion is not a single event, but a value lived out in consistent, intentional acts every day.
Van Buren Elementary School
Van Buren Elementary students joined schools across the globe in recognizing World Down Syndrome Day by sporting silly socks on Friday—a cheerful gesture that connected the Van Buren community to a worldwide movement of awareness and acceptance.
Clarks Creek Elementary School
Autumn Raubuck, Life Skills Teacher, guided her students through a read-aloud exploring the theme of differences, sparking thoughtful conversations about celebrating those who are different from us. Students also wore crazy socks, joining peers across the district in this colorful symbol of solidarity.
Central Elementary School
Central Elementary wove disability awareness into every corner of the school experience this month. In the library, every grade level explored books featuring characters who navigate life with a disability. In music class, students discovered what it means to feel music rather than hear it—a powerful exercise in perspective-taking. PE classes gave students a firsthand taste of visual impairment through obstacle courses designed to build empathy through experience.
Perhaps the most striking project of the month was the school-wide mural in the art room: every student contributed a uniquely decorated square to a collaborative work of art that grew throughout March, representing the collective community in the most literal and beautiful sense.
Morning announcements were devoted throughout the month to disability education, with teachers facilitating related discussions during morning meetings. Students also had the opportunity to learn American Sign Language vocabulary from Emily Atkins during those broadcasts. As a special highlight, Olivia Slavens—a former PCSC student and current Miss Amazing Queen—visited to speak with fourth and fifth graders about her own story, the realities of disability, and the ways young people can make a difference.
Plainfield Community Middle School
PCMS brought tremendous heart to the month’s celebrations. Over 80 students and staff took the plunge for Special Olympics, raising more than $16,000 for the cause—a testament to a school culture where service and solidarity go hand in hand.
Art also played a prominent role: students created a striking stained glass mural celebrating diversity, while students throughout the building displayed disability-awareness posters in the hallways. The month closed with a dedicated Awareness Day on March 19th, featuring staff t-shirts, mismatched socks, Inclusion Revolution poster signings at lunch, and daily morning announcements promoting inclusivity throughout the first week of March.
Brentwood Elementary School
Brentwood Elementary focused on building empathy from the inside out. Classroom lessons across every grade encouraged students to celebrate each person’s unique strengths and differences. Hallways were brightened with inclusion posters, and a collaboration between the school counselor and the art teacher produced colorfully decorated brain illustrations for the central bulletin board—a vibrant reminder that every mind is beautifully different.
Plainfield High School
Plainfield High School dedicated the week of March 23–26 to inclusion and appreciation. Spirit Dress-Up Days featured a different color theme each day representing a disability within the PHS community, while the school’s daily playlist was curated entirely from the favorite songs of Life Skills students—offering the broader school a glimpse into their peers’ world.
Down in the Ellipse, student-created posters highlighted the interests and passions of Life Skills students, putting personal stories at the heart of the week’s theme.
Guilford Elementary School
Guilford Elementary made awareness tangible by purchasing crazy socks for every student and staff member to wear on March 20th in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, with the whole school also wearing yellow and blue. Fifth graders engaged in DNA Minute to Win It activities, teachers drew on the district’s Disability Awareness toolkit, and families received a parent toolkit link through the school newsletter, extending the learning beyond school walls.
Across every school in the Plainfield Community School Corporation, Disability Awareness Month served as a reminder that inclusion is not a destination—it is an ongoing journey that requires curiosity, courage, and community. Whether through a school-wide mural, a song playlist, a pair of mismatched socks, or a story read aloud in a classroom, each action taken this month sends the same message to every student, family, and staff member within our district: you are seen, you are valued, and you belong here.