 Students needing extra help in the classroom are sometimes excluded from it. Getting attention from teachers whose main expertise might not be that particular subject. In the Bemidji School District, staff are working to keep special education students in the classroom through a culture of inclusion, as Mal Meyer reports for this week's Golden Apple. What is a Pulsar? What does it do? Over 20 years ago, Mara Johnson helped merge special education students into regular education classrooms. And you can imagine that some teachers did not see this as a potentially enriching experience. They saw that this would be, no, that's too much work. Since then, teachers have found that the opposite is true. She is like a second teacher in our classroom. She helps all the students, but with special emphasis on her group of inclusion kids. Students who might be distracted or uninterested when they don't understand have someone there for them to call on. Having the inclusion program is the best idea. There also offered the opportunity to go work in a smaller group setting if need be. Ross Randall says he works with 11 students this year. As far as the work, it's really rewarding because you can help these kids that are maybe right on the edge and give them the boost that they need to be successful. And actually you see a lot of success in these kids, so that's fun to see. So there's two ways to look at them. Giving them the boost they need to stay in the same classes as their peers, offering them the chance to still learn through the best educators. So for me to say, oh yeah, I can teach you science, that's no problem. Well, yeah, I sort of can. But it's not like the eighth grade science teacher. The school district hopes to provide a sense of equity for students in special education. They don't feel like they're excluded and they have to go to a different classroom. They feel like I can learn in this classroom with a different way of learning. School staff say by merging various strengths and different subjects, the students learn better and can hear a wide range of ideas, a benefit for all. It's wonderful for us to give our children the opportunity to embrace that people are different and that's okay. With this week's Golden Apple in Bemidji, I'm Mal Meyer, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.