Leading for All: How to Create Truly Inclusive and Excellent Schools - Paperback

by Jennifer Spencer-Iiams (Author), Josh Flosi (Author)

Develop inclusive and equitable school communities where all learners thrive

Research has shown that inclusive education results in better academic outcomes for ALL students, not just those identified with disabilities, by promoting self-efficacy, improving social and emotional health, and consistently implementing research-based instructional strategies. Still, many schools rely on deeply ingrained, segregated practices that fail to serve all students.

Leading for All is a practical guide that provides a clear pathway for educators to develop a more inclusive school community from start to finish. Authors Jennifer Spencer-Iiams and Josh Flosi share lessons learned from spending nearly a decade building district schools where all students are served in their neighborhood school and in classrooms with their general education peers.

Features include:

• Three focus areas to guide change: Creating Inclusive Cultures, Improving Instructional Practices, and Increasing Student Voice
• 7 Components of Inclusive and Equitable Learning Communities
• Supporting resources for promoting inclusion throughout the school day, including co-curricular activities and transportation
• Stories of real students and teachers and the actions that impacted their success

Educators and school leaders want to create inclusive and excellent educational experiences for all students, but they do not always know how to proceed. Leading for All provides a model, stories, strategies, and clear evidence that it can be done effectively.

Author Biography

Dr. Jennifer Spencer-Iiams is the Assistant Superintendent for Student Services in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District in Oregon. She has been a teacher and educational leader for 32 years. She led significant transformation in her district in the movement to a full inclusion model that honors student strengths and promotes belonging. Jennifer has served as an adjunct professor in the area of Special Education and in Emerging Bilingual Education. She has presented on models of inclusion at numerous conferences, served on statewide leadership groups focused on improvement in Special Education, and she collaborated to support national educational reform efforts for higher education and educator standards. Jennifer is a triple Duck, earning her bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregon. She is the child of educators and her mother was always active in improving her community. Jennifer is the youngest sister to five strong women. She lives in West Linn, Oregon with her husband, three grown children in the area, and her dog, Gus.

Dr. Josh Flosi has been an educator for 25 years in public, private, and international schools. He currently leads Student Support Services at the International School of Tanganyika, an inclusive school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Before that, he spent 10 years as a building administrator and then Assistant Director of Student Services in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District near Portland, Oregon, where he helped lead the transformation to a profoundly inclusive model of education. He spent 14 years as a high school English and Social Studies teacher. He has also been an adjunct professor in a teacher preparation program and a regular presenter at conferences. Josh is committed to promoting inclusive and excellent schools, believing that we all have the capacity to learn and the right to belong and contribute to a community. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Stanford University and his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Oregon. He enjoys traveling with his family, reading, coaching soccer, and crafting homemade ice cream.