RESOURCES
Inclusion is not a place. To be included is to feel a sense of belonging and to participate in activities available to all others in our community. The result of inclusion is motivation, engagement, and achievement.
Topical Resources
There are numerous resources available to anyone hoping to learn more about the legal, technical, and practical aspects of making inclusive education a reality. It's just a matter of finding them! Check out some of the links we find useful.
School Leadership
Here are some resources for principals and teacher leaders who play a critical role in fostering a positive mindset toward inclusion, creating school organizational structures that enable all students to learn together, and responding to the technical and adaptive challenges facing educators.
Clearing a Path for Inclusion: Distributing Leadership in a High Performing Elementary School
This study examines the efforts and actions of one principal and her team in building a more inclusive and high-performing elementary school in a large urban school district.
Effective Leadership Makes Schools Truly Inclusive
This article by James McLeskey and Nancy Waldron discusses the qualities of a principal who promotes improved student outcomes through data-based instructional decisions and inclusive school practices.
Inclusive Principal Leadership – Part 1: What It Is & Why It Matters
The National Center for Learning Disabilities describes the practice of inclusive principal leadership and why it matters.
Principals of Inclusive Schools
This brief by the National Institute of Urban School Improvement describes the characteristics of inclusive leaders and how they can support inclusive schools.
Promoting Principal Leadership for the Success of Students with Disabilities
Published by the CEEDAR Center in collaboration with the Council of Chief State School Officers, this document provides State Education Agencies and local administrators with actionable steps to cultivate competencies for effective principal leadership.
Promises to Keep: Transforming Educator Preparation to Better Serve a Diverse Range of Learners
This document from the CEEDAR Center covers educator preparation to teach struggling learners, including students with disabilities, to meet college-and-career-ready standards.
International Literature on Inclusion
Global Report on Inclusive Education 2020
This UNESCO report looks at social, economic, and cultural mechanisms that discriminate against vulnerable children, youth, and adults, keeping them out of education or marginalized in it.
UN Report on Inclusive Ed as Human Rights 2019
In this report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights makes 11 recommendations for ensuring that children with disabilities receive an inclusive education, are empowered to have a voice and advocate on their own behalf, and that systems enact policies to prevent institutionalization, abuse, violence, and exploitation.
Universal Design for Learning
Below are some resources to help school districts take the journey to create curricula that are accessible to ALL students.
Katie Novak’s "Teachers’ Guide to UDL" helps teachers from setting the stage of their lesson and creating a warm-up to self-differentiated assessment as an expression of student learning.
This toolkit, developed by USAID, provides educators and their partners with a resource to help learners with disabilities learn to read through inclusive schooling.
Universal Design is a Standards-Based Curriculum Design
This article presents a process that teachers can use as they develop standards-based lesson plans.
UDL to Provide SDI in the General Education Classroom
This publication by Polling & Novak helps educators put UDL in the context of accommodations and the specially designed instruction and interventions needed to address the unique methods and supports for learners with disabilities.
Family Resources
These resources will help parents and guardians more comfortably interact with the school about their child's needs and support their child’s participation and membership in the school and class they would attend if they did not have a disability.
How Parents & Teachers Can Work Together in the Inclusive Classroom
This brief by Nicole Eredics, a teacher and parent, gives a personal perspective on the steps to achieving a collaborative relationship.
Parents, Family, and Community Participation in Inclusive Education
This booklet, developed by UNICEF, helps engage families and communities in the process of implementing inclusive education, with an emphasis on children with disabilities.
Paraprofessional Resources
Individualized instruction and supports for students with disabilities are sometimes provided by paraprofessionals under the guidance of the special and/or general education teacher in the general education classroom. These resources address common questions about the role that paraprofessionals can play in a student's education.
Addressing the Paraprofessional Dilemma in an Inclusive School
Dr. Michael Giangreco and his colleagues offer an in-depth description of one elementary school over time as they used an action planning tool to reduce overreliance on paraprofessionals.
Remote Use of Paraprofessional Supports for Students with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Giangreco shares a series of strategies for the role of a paraprofessional educator in situations where face-to-face instruction is limited.
Equity
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Justice
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