Skip to content
Menu
  • English Selected
  • Français

 

Header secondary

  • Sign up for eNews
  • Donate

Header

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Our Programs
    • Leadership Team
    • Board Members and Committees
    • Donors
    • Annual Reports
    • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Champion's Circle
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • About Rick
    • About Rick
    • Rick's Story
    • Man In Motion World Tour
      • Man In Motion World Tour
      • The Dream
      • Tour Timeline
      • Tour Gallery
      • Tour Team
      • 35th Anniversary
    • Rick’s Work and Vision
    • A Conversation with Rick
    • Awards & Honours
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Fundraise
    • Help make Canada accessible
    • Everyone Everywhere
    • National AccessAbility Week
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Become Accessible
    • Become Accessible
    • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating Request Form
      • RHFAC FAQ
      • RHFAC v3.0
    • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Professional Training
      • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Tuition Grants
    • APN 2023 Conference
    • Accessibility Resources
    • Accessibility Professional Network
      • Accessibility Professional Network
      • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
      • Login
      • RHFAC Professional Directory
    • Post an Accessibility Job
    • Accessibility Advisory Services
    • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
    • Leaders in Accessibility
    • B.C. Accessibility Grants
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Schools & Communities
    • Schools and Communities
    • Create an Inclusive School Year
      • Start with Awareness
      • Concentrate on Kindness 
      • Boldly Take Action
    • Resource Library
    • Ambassador Presentations
      • Ambassador Presentations
      • Book a Presentation
      • About Our Ambassadors
    • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Winners
    • Supplementary Resources
    • Our Partners
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • News & Stories
    • News & Stories
    • Blog
    • Media Centre
    • Newsletter
    • Disability Reports
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Search
Hero Meet Renuka Senaratne

Meet Renuka Senaratne

Breadcrumb

  1. Rick Hansen Foundation
  2. Schools & Communities
  3. Difference Maker Awards
  4. Difference Maker Winners
  5. Currently selected Meet Renuka Senaratne

Meet 2019 Difference Maker Educator of the Year Renuka Senaratne

Middle Eastern woman with black hair smiles holding up her DM year certificate.


Renuka Senaratne was surprised to hear she’d won a Difference Maker Educator of the Year award from the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program (RHFSP). With all of the work she put towards inclusivity at Surrey’s Janice Churchill Elementary, the rest of her colleagues probably wouldn’t be. According to Principal Daljeet Rama who worked with Renuka for a year at Janice Churchill, and nominated her for the award, a main reason for the nomination is that the grade three teacher “was a leader in the school with all her initiatives that promote inclusion.”

A Legacy of Inclusion

Some of the results of Renuka’s advocacy are visible, like the paved surface in the school’s parking lot and the open hallways that help staff and students with different abilities safely navigate throughout their day. 
Many of her efforts may not be as tangible as an accessible parking lot, but are part of her legacy of inclusion. Through her registration with RHFSP, Renuka learned about RHF Ambassadors and has brought several in to speak with students about accessibility and inclusion, and led many discussions herself within her classes. A Paralympic athlete who presented to their school passed around a gold medal for the students, which Principal Rama said was a “true highlight of their school life.” This type of inclusive thinking is what led Principal Rama to want to acknowledge Renuka as a Difference Maker. 

Continuing the Conversation

Now a teacher at Hillcrest Elementary in Surrey, Renuka continues to have open dialogues with her students, and works to adapt her classroom to suit a diversity of needs. She will often use her own disability as a jumping off point to have a larger discussion about embracing our differences and the importance of supporting one another.
To her, an inclusive classroom “is one where everyone feels respected and like they belong—where everyone has access, and you’re not following a one-size-fits-all setup.”

Positive Change in the Classroom

Renuka notes how there’s been a lot of rethinking when it comes to meeting a variety of needs in the classroom. You want it to be wheelchair accessible, but you also want to make sure there’s private spaces for children who need quiet. Or places for students who don’t like to sit at a desk when they write. “We design classroom spaces for a diversity of needs, whether that be seating or sound or light or access. It’s a constant work in progress. Every year you get a different set of students.”

Just as important as the physical set-up of the classroom, is the culture you foster within it. Renuka talks to her students often about the importance of supporting and encouraging each other. A safe and inclusive environment is one where children are more likely to participate and take risks. 

Making Access and Inclusion Fun

Renuka plans to invite different speakers to talk to students at Hillcrest Elementary. She also raises awareness of the different activities available, and has taken her classes to play sledge hockey, an adapted form of ice hockey. Sports like this level the playing field for all students, and allow students of all abilities to participate.

“For a child who has a disability, when they play sledge hockey, all of a sudden they’re in the game and the same as their classmates.”

 


 

Back to top

The Rick Hansen Foundation School Program
Made possible by the generous support of Scotiabank, the Gordon and Ruth Gooder Charitable Foundation and the Skidmore Foundation.
Gordon and Ruth Gooder Charitable Foundation
 

Learn More

 

Stay in Touch

Receive Foundation emails to stay up-to-date on our impact and programs.

Contact Us

1-800-213-2131
info@rickhansen.com

Rick Hansen Foundation
300-3820 Cessna Drive
Richmond, BC
Canada V7B 0A2

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

About Us - EN

  • About Us
  • Our Programs
  • Leadership Team
  • Board Members and Committees
  • Donors
  • Annual Reports
  • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
  • FAQ
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Champion's Circle

About Rick - EN

  • About Rick
  • Rick's Story
  • Man In Motion World Tour
    • Man In Motion World Tour
    • The Dream
    • Tour Timeline
    • Tour Gallery
    • Tour Team
    • 35th Anniversary
  • Rick’s Work and Vision
  • A Conversation with Rick
  • Awards & Honours

Get Involved - EN

  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Legacy Giving
  • Fundraise
  • Help make Canada accessible
  • Everyone Everywhere
  • National AccessAbility Week

Become Accessible - EN

  • Become Accessible
  • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating Request Form
    • RHFAC FAQ
    • RHFAC v3.0
  • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Professional Training
    • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Tuition Grants
  • APN 2023 Conference
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Accessibility Professional Network
    • Accessibility Professional Network
    • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
    • Login
    • RHFAC Professional Directory
  • Post an Accessibility Job
  • Accessibility Advisory Services
  • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
  • Leaders in Accessibility
  • B.C. Accessibility Grants

Schools & Communities - EN

  • Schools and Communities
  • Create an Inclusive School Year
    • Start with Awareness
    • Concentrate on Kindness 
    • Boldly Take Action
  • Resource Library
  • Ambassador Presentations
    • Ambassador Presentations
    • Book a Presentation
    • About Our Ambassadors
  • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Winners
  • Supplementary Resources
  • Our Partners

News & Stories - EN

  • News & Stories
  • Blog
  • Media Centre
  • Newsletter
  • Disability Reports

Legal

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ethical Reporting Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Imagine Canada Certification
  • Accessibility Commitment
  • Diversity and Inclusion
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Charitable Registration Number: 10765 9427 RR 0001 © 2023 Rick Hansen Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Back to Top
Hero

Our programs and initiatives work to create an accessible and inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential. 

Learn more
Hero

When Rick set out to wheel around the world in 1985, he had three missions: to raise awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, create accessible and inclusive communities, and find a cure.

Read more
Hero

Receive updates from RHF on the impact we’re making for people with disabilities across Canada.

Subscribe
Hero

Have your site rated and certified for meaningful access for people with physical disabilities. Make your community more welcoming and inclusive for all!

Get Started
Hero

Receive free educational resources that teach youth about the importance of access and inclusion.  

Learn more
Hero

Browse the latest stories about access and inclusion from Rick and our team of bloggers. 

Read our Blog