Setting the Scene: Inclusive Learning at Central Valley School District
Serving a diverse and growing community in Washington State, Central Valley School District supports more than 14,700 students across 29 schools and learning centers in Spokane Valley. Within the district, approximately 2,500 students receive special education services, spanning a wide age range from birth through age 22. Students are supported through a broad range of services, from resource support in core academic areas to highly specialized programs, including severe and profound autism programs.
What stands out at CVSD is not only the range of educational services, but the way teams collaborate to ensure students can meaningfully access learning. Occupational therapists, special education teachers, and learning specialists cooperate to identify barriers and trial solutions that support student participation and independence. This approach reflects the district’s wider mission to prepare students for career and life through a high quality, comprehensive education delivered in partnership with families and the community, within a safe and inclusive environment.
In this conversation, Team Clevy spoke with Mandi Jennings, Jacy Williams, and Aaron Ash, members of CVSD’s special education and occupational therapy team, about how assistive technology is evaluated and implemented in real classrooms. They shared their experience using Clevy Keyboards and their exploration of ABC Maestro as a next step in supporting written output and keyboard skills. Their insights offer a grounded, real world look at how accessibility decisions are shaped by collaboration, data, and a deep understanding of student needs.
From Trial to Decision: How Assistive Technology Is Introduced
In schools, assistive technology is typically considered when a student has the ability to engage with learning but faces barriers that limit access. Rather than starting with a product, teams start with the student. Teachers, occupational therapists, families, and other specialists work together to identify challenges and explore tools that could support participation and independence.
These decisions are usually made through the student’s IEP team. Assistive technology is often trialed first, using short term loans or lending libraries, so teams can observe real classroom use and gather data before moving forward. This process helps ensure that technology is introduced with purpose and responds to actual student needs.
This approach is standard practice at CVSD; As the team explained: “We make a determination as an IEP team whether or not the assistive technology was successful. We just look at our data, did it support the student, yes or no?”
Lending libraries play an important role in making assistive technology more accessible to schools, especially when teams are still exploring what might work best for a student. Having the option to borrow and try equipment removes pressure from the decision-making process and allows educators to focus on the student rather than the purchase.
The CVSD team accessed the Clevy Keyboard through Special Education Technology Center (SETC). As one team member shared, “We can request devices and do a trial. It’s just on a loan basis, and then we have to return the device.” Across the U.S., similar lending libraries make it possible for schools to try assistive tools like Clevy products before committing, helping more students gain access to the support they need.
Why Standard Keyboards Aren’t Enough for Some Learners
Learning to write on a keyboard is more complex than it looks. It requires fine motor coordination, visual discrimination, motor planning, and sustained attention at the same time. For some students, these combined demands make standard keyboards difficult to use, even when they have the cognitive ability to express themselves in writing.
At CVSD, the occupational therapy and special education team members see this gap regularly. As the team noted, “A lot of kids have the readiness to learn and the cognitive abilities to produce the written output, but don’t have the means to do it at the pace of their peers.” On standard keyboards, small keys and limited visual contrast often result in repeated errors, which can quickly become discouraging. “They’ll make a lot of errors, which leads to frustration and shutting down,” the team shared.
When looking for an alternative, the difference with Clevy was clear. “We were really looking for a keyboard that offered large letters to help with fine motor coordination, as well as the visual contrast with the color coding of a keyboard to help them pick up the patterns of typing.” Rather than focusing on speed or traditional typing expectations, the goal was access.
By reducing errors and increasing visual and motor clarity, the Clevy Keyboard allowed students to focus more on what they wanted to write, not just how to press the right key. This shift helped students stay engaged, build confidence, and participate more fully in classroom activities, without needing to relearn typing from scratch.
Why ABC Maestro Was the Missing Piece
Once the physical barriers to typing were reduced, another question naturally followed. How do students learn where the letters are in a way that connects directly to how they see and use the keyboard?
The CVSD team had already been using keyboard for their student, and they used a typing program to help the learning process. During this process, they noticed that consistency between on screen instruction and the physical keyboard mattered. As they explained, “The color coding wasn’t matching the typing program that we were using, so it was a little confusing.”
That observation helped clarify what students needed next. When visual cues on screen align with what students see and touch on the keyboard, it becomes easier to build familiarity and confidence. ABC Maestro was designed with this kind of alignment in mind. The software introduces letters through simple prompts, visual cues, and game like activities that are intended to encourage exploration without pressure. Throughout the program, the Clevy Keyboard is visually reflected on screen, reinforcing the same colors, layout, and patterns students use physically.
For the CVSD team, this kind of alignment is expected to support generalization. “The keyboard instruction matched the actual keyboard, and the fact that the colors were the same, it was easier to navigate,” they shared. Rather than adding another layer of complexity, ABC Maestro is being explored as a way to reinforce familiar patterns and support typing practice in a clear, predictable, and achievable way.
The key question: Why Assistive Technology Matters in Schools
Assistive technology plays a critical role in helping students access learning in ways that work for them. For students with motor, visual, or cognitive challenges, the right tools can reduce barriers and open up opportunities to participate more independently in the classroom. When assistive technology is introduced thoughtfully, it supports not just access, but confidence and engagement as well.
Clevy products are developed with this principle in mind. Design decisions are shaped by direct input from individuals, educators, and professionals who use the tools every day. By listening closely to users and specialists, the focus remains on real classroom needs rather than theoretical solutions.
At Central Valley School District, assistive technology is viewed through the same lens. As the team explained, “Ultimately the keyboard is about access, right? What we’re trying to do is provide students access to general Ed curriculum.” Their goal is not technology for its own sake, but meaningful participation.
For their students, that goal is clear. “Our goal is to increase written output,” the team shared, supporting students in progressing “from word level to sentence level” and toward greater independence. Assistive technology is one of the tools helping make that possible, allowing students to show what they know in ways that reflect their abilities rather than their limitations.
And so, the purpose remains clear: Assistive technology is not about adding more tools but about creating meaningful ways for students to participate and show what they know. As CVSD continues to explore solutions like Clevy Keyboards and ABC Maestro, each trial contributes to a deeper understanding of how access, instruction, and independence can come together in the classroom.
