Marsha Forest Centre Projects

Toronto Summer Institute
The ‘summer institutes’ began in 1984 as a commitment to build leadership for inclusion. They have and continue to evolve. When the Centre was formed, it assumed the role of overseeing the institutes. This is a natural evolution. Inclusion Press was originally nested within the Centre – and as it grew, it became an independent entity. The same is true with the Summer Institute’s evolution.

SKETCH Participation in events…
The MFC subsidized many ‘street involved youth’ from Sketch (a street/arts program in Toronto) on planning courses with MAPS and PATH, and team participation in the Toronto Summer Institutes – over the decades.

Mpambo Multiversity – Isegaro, Uganda
The MFC assisted Jack Pearpoint & Board Member Lynda Kahn as they continued their roles as International Faculty of Mpambo Multiversity by attending and participating in a series of seminars and events in Uganda. The first visit was in June, 2004 for a planning conference in Jinga.  In late January, 2007, there was a second visit in support of the work and vision of Mpambo Multiversity and its founder Dr. Paulo Wangoola. In May, 2017, a third trip included the Confluence Event and the launch of Mulembe Mutinzi Cuusansi – the revival of the ancient traditional belief system from the source of the Nile – now known as Tondism.

PlayFair Teams
The MFC initiated the PlayFair Teams project, and, with support from Social Development Canada and Inclusion Press, published two books, a CD and posters in support of the project. PlayFair Teams is a student leadership project with the objective of addressing issues of disability, social justice, and inclusion. The MFC continues to support the seedling project as it spreads around the country and the world. For additional information see PlayFair Teams.

Inclusion Curriculum Development
National Resource Centre for Inclusion (NRCI) – Mumbai, India
Dr. Gary Bunch has made several extended trips to India in support of the work of NRCI. The MFC has been supportive of these activities. Teaching curricula have been developed and published. Dr. Bunch has contributed to courses, trained staff in qualitative action research, written manuals on inclusive education for administrators, teachers, and parents, and offered consultative advice.

Teacher Development in Inclusive Education, New Delhi, India
Gary Bunch was invited to participate in an international conference on inclusive education organized by the Sanskriti School. While in New Delhi he spoke on teacher attitude and inclusive education. He has been invited to return to New Delhi in December 2007 to assist local educators in teacher development in inclusive education.

Dharavi preschool inclusion, Mumbai, India
The MFC is collaborating with and supporting inclusion in the preschool programs of the National Resource Centre for Inclusion in Mumbai. The program operates in one of the world’s most complex slum communities – Dharavi in Mumbai, India. Staff and personnel from the preschool program and the National Resource Centre for Inclusion were participants in a Path training course by Jack Pearpoint in Feburary, 2005.  

Publishing and Research

Planning for Real Life After School
This book is about transition from school to work. It has research that confirms what we all know: that for individuals with disabilities, the close collaboration between families, teachers and students facing ‘transition to work’ is rare. When done well, it works, but it seldom happens. What is different is that this is a proposal for collaboration without blaming – a good tool for all parties. There are two volumes, a Plain Language Edition and a regular edition. The Plain Language edition was co-edited by authors from People First of Ontario. Both are useful, but for those with second language issues and/or learning difficulties, the Plain Language may be more useful.

Crucial Terms: Finding a Way Through the Maze: Crucial Terms Used in Education for Canadians with Disabilities
The MFC was a joint sponsor of the the Crucial Terms Project, designed to clarify crucial terms used to describe education for learners with disabilities under the Special Education Model and under the Inclusive Education Model.  Download the report.

Inclusion: How to
Prepared jointly with Inclusion Press, DownSideUp, a Russian NGO, and the Moscow Central School District Inclusion: How To by Dr. Gary Bunch was translated and published in Russian – the First book on Inclusive Education in Russian. 

International Inclusive Education Consortium: – Zagreb, Croatia, June 2007
State of the Art Inclusion Research Project: The formal founding seminar of a new international consortium of researchers on Inclusive Education will be held in Zagreb in June. Convened by Dr. Gary Bunch of the MFC with assistance from Board member Dr. Gerv Leyden, delegates from Germany, Spain, England, and Canada will meet and take the first steps in forming a collaborative research group focused on inclusive education. Members from the above nations, and from India and Malta, are working on their first book on the state of research into Inclusive Education in the world, to be published by Inclusion Press in collaboration with MFC. 

Each Belongs: The Remarkable Story of the First School System to Move to Inclusion by Jim Hansen
The MFC undertook to document and record the history of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic School Board, the first school ‘system ‘to welcome all children to its regular classrooms. MFC created a book and CD-ROM. Jim Hansen, the Superintendent who lead this exciting change, and who wrote the book with the support of Board Member Dr. Gerv Leyden, Dr. Gary Bunch and Jack Pearpoint from the MFC. Click here.

Inclusion News
Inclusion News is an occasional publication of the Centre. While it has not been published recently, an archive of early issues is on this web site which gives a snapshot into the history of many developments in the history of inclusion. We hope to renew this spirit shortly. Inclusion News was a newsy and user friendly newspaper. Inclusion News let you know what the people in the international network for inclusion were thinking about. It was a connector, a bridge-builder among like-minded kindred spirits all over the world. Inclusion News included a resource catalogue (now available from this web site as a download). We hope it will be useful to you in strengthening your community and your practice. The INCLUSION NEWS Archive.