James Kephart likes to boogie and, thanks to a unique program at Leon High School, he and two dozen of his friends have the opportunity to study movement and music. The class is offered through the Lions United program and Kephart, 18, likes “the dancing and the rhythms and all that stuff. It’s been really good and I’m feeling more confident.”

Lions United was created as an inclusive opportunity for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and students from the general education population to learn collaboratively. Lee Commander, Director of Bands, explained that the music and dance component of the Lions United evolved from a simple observation.

“It happened by accident,” he confessed. While looking over the elective options for students in the program, Commander noticed there was no music course. He suggested that one be offered. “The question became who would teach it and in that moment, I instinctively said, ‘I’ll do it.’ Of course, I went back to my classroom and tried to figure out how. There was no curriculum for it.”

While he was growing up, Commander’s mother worked with adults with developmental disabilities and though he had no specialized training, other than what’s required for a teaching certificate, Commander was comfortable with the idea of doing the same with teenagers. “I knew some sign language and figured I had enough resources with FSU that we could get it going. It became my master’s project.”

Commander has developed

a unique model that’s being replicated across the region and he recognizes “it really has changed the way I teach my other classes.”

He now spends more time “thinking sequentially. What is the very first thing we have to do to make the next step make more sense? How can I make sure we’re retaining and what sort of teaching methods can I use to get there?”

The success of the music class brought an opportunity to add a movement component and Taylor Whittle came onboard two years ago to initiate it. She co-teaches the class with Commander and they’re seeing improvement in students’ gross and fine motor skills, mobility, as well as social and personal development.

“To see the jump from last year to this year is incredible,” Whittle said. “Some of these kids wouldn’t even go across the floor and this year they pretty much all participate in everything. Even some of our students who have very little communication and are pretty much non-verbal all day long will come in here and dance and sing and do things that nobody even knew they could do when they were in a traditional classroom setting. They are rocking it out.”

Whittle has also worked with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as senior citizens with dementia. She said, “throughout all of that, I’ve seen that the arts are such a universal thing. Music and movement just kind of opens them up.”

Commander echoes those sentiments and adds that this class offers benefits for everyone who participates including visiting music education students from area colleges and students from Leon’s general education population.

“Because Leon is so strong in the arts and we have so many great ensembles, we’ve been able to integrate those and do collaborations where we work together to play music. Now adding the movement part, the possibilities are totally open. We’re talking with the cheerleaders and the dance team about coming in too.”

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