New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society will build staff cultural competency in accessibility and improve K-12 programming for students with disabilities. The project will create sustainable systems and structures for ensuring that all programs take the needs of students with disabilities into account; establish a pattern of consistent accessibility training for all museum education staff; and create space for staff to learn from and network with peer organizations. Project activities will include building an advisory council of teachers and parents, conducting quarterly trainings for museum educators, consulting among peers to build a network of access, and hiring an expert consultant to assess K-12 student programs. The project will also develop pilots for two types of access-specific K-12 programming that will be implemented, assessed, and revised.  The project will result in a strategy document that will continue implementation of the initiative for a period of five-years to ensure the sustainability of the program and benefits to the students.