NEW SWEDEN – For a few hours Thursday morning a group of Swedish educators touring northern Maine felt right at home.

The 30 school principals and superintendents were in Aroostook County to get a firsthand look at inclusive education programs aimed at integrating students with special needs into day-to-day classroom activities.

Along the way, the group also got a history lesson and overview of the area – in their native language.

“I’m an assistant superintendent by trade and 100 percent Swedish by birth,” said Paul Swanson, assistant superintendent of Union 122, as he chatted with the visitors in both English and Swedish.

While the educators enjoyed the historical talk – given by area resident Dan Olson in perfect Swedish – along with the traditional live music and a typical school hot lunch, what really interested them was the school’s approach to one pupil in particular.

“The program we have here is a role model for other schools,” Swanson said. “We built a team and had to spend some money [but] that’s how the student stays included, by our supporting him.”

The pupil is 10-year-old Ethan Gustafson, a fifth-grader who has been diagnosed with autism.

Thanks to the New Sweden School’s approach and use of assistant teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists and the involvement of the youngster’s parents, Ethan is part of the overall fifth-grade class.

“It’s been amazing,” said Ethan’s mother, Summa Gustafson. “We’ve hit a few bumps along the way and it’s been tough at times, but I’m able to talk with his team honestly and we all want what’s best for Ethan.”

Gustafson said it was “a little scary” talking to the Swedish delegation.

“Here was this bunch of people who were interested in what Ethan is doing,” Gustafson said. “I didn’t think anyone really cared; [we] get used to [autism] getting swept under the rug.”

The northern Maine visit – the delegation’s only stop in this country – was organized by Joanne Putnam, University of Maine at Presque Isle professor of education.

Before entering the U.S., the Swedes spent several days touring schools in New Brunswick.

In 2001 a team of Swedish educators visited UMPI to discuss inclusive education, followed by a parliamentary committee two years later.

“I wanted them to see an example of a school that has been inclusive for a decade,” Putnam said during a break in activities in New Sweden. “And of course there is the wonderful ethnic connection.”

The guests took full advantage of that connection, conversing in Swedish with community members, admiring the framed photograph of the king and queen of Sweden on the wall and snapping pictures of the student athletic scoreboard in the small gymnasium which lists “Swedes” and “Guests.”

“The local community really rolled out the red carpet,” Putnam said.

More importantly, she said, the school was able to demonstrate how well it implements inclusive educational programs with Ethan Gustafson.

“Inclusive education is really all about an ethical approach to education and that all kids should be learning together regardless of cultural, ethnic or learning ability differences,” Putnam said. “You do that in the context of the school and by meeting the individual student’s needs.”

Leading the group of educators was Ove Holmberg, director of the Copernicus Project, which works with successful schools in his home country. He said he was quite impressed with what he had seen and heard in New Sweden.

“We’ve spent several days observing schools in New Brunswick, and now we are excited to see what is happening here,” Holmberg said. “It is a good opportunity to discuss policies and education.”

That discussion continued later in the day when the group met with several of Putnam’s teacher education classes on the UMPI campus.

“You are really successful in what it is that makes education inclusive,” Marianne Zindiors, delegation member, said before meeting with the UMPI students.

It is a system she hopes her country will take to heart.

In Sweden, Zindiors said, parents of special-needs children have the option of sending them to separate schools or enrolling them in the public system.

The trouble is, Zindiors said, the special schools have the better programming and resources for addressing the needs of those students. So while they get the best attention, they are not part of the everyday life of all of the other students.

“It is not only important for the person with the needs to be included with everyone else,” Zindiors said. “It is also important for the other students that everyone is together so that they see not just what is different but how we have more in common.”