We’re expanding our Joyful Inclusion Team with Inclusion Coaches.

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Imagine the player dashing down the field, football tucked under his arm. He’s jumping over downed opponents and pivoting to avoid hulking linebackers. He is breathing hard, intent on making a touchdown. The cheerleaders are chanting… The crowd is on their feet!!

But wait - the goal posts have been moved! That’s not the end zone - he’s only at the 50 yard line. What the heck???

“Do you know the difference between percentage and percentile? If not, you’re probably writing ineffective IEPs and perpetuating the achievement gap.” -Jon Paul Burden, Wyoming Department of Education, Feb 2022

That quotation launched Jon Paul Burden’s morning keynote at the Nebraska Transition Conference last month. I can’t stop thinking about it. His question was followed by explanations and examples. I’d like to share my takeaways with you:

3 different school leaders told me, “We need coaching, but we can’t hire coaches!”

For more than a decade, I’ve been providing professional development related to inclusive practices in school districts. In partnership with some amazing visionary school leaders, we’ve tried three different approaches…

“If a student has an IEP, the graduation decision is made by the IEP team.” - Jordan Johnson, KSB School Law

I thought I was up to date with the legalities of transition planning, so this was a new dimension for me. Johnson, the keynote presenter at the Nebraska Transition Conference last week, provided clear guidelines, backed up by recent case law. I thought I should pass this along to you.

“You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things.” - Mother Teresa

In the spirit of Mother Teresa, I’m excited to tell you that I’m forming the Joyful Inclusion Action Network!

According to Kelly Clarkson’s song, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I’ve been pondering whether that’s always true.

Think about what we’ve been through in the last two years, as individuals, as families, as communities. Are we stronger? Are you? For so many of us, this has been a stressful time of loss and uncertainty.

I want to share a simple piece of advice that I wish I had received earlier in my life.

Make memories whenever you can.

Let’s explore how this plays out in your personal life and in the classroom.

It’s LIVE!!! I have given birth!!!

No, I wasn’t pregnant and no, it’s not a human baby.

I’ve given birth to a new website, an embodiment of my life mission. I don’t know any other way to describe the process I’ve been going through - it’s been a two month gestational period.

and… who’s the author?

You’d think that at this stage of my life I wouldn’t still be learning anything new about stories. I started as an English teacher, after all…. But it seems that everywhere I turn, the universe is expanding my understanding of personal narratives and how they impact lives — your life as a teacher, the lives of your students, and yes, their families.