Challenging behavior is one of the most significant issues educators face. Though it may seem radical to use words like love, compassion, and heart when we talk about behavior and discipline, the compassionate and heartfelt words, actions, and strategies teachers employ in the classroom directly shape who students are-and who they will become. But how can teaching from the heart translate into effective supports and practices for students who exhibit challenging behavior? In From Behaving to Belonging, Julie Causton and Kate MacLeod detail how teachers can shift from a ""behavior management"" mindset (that punishes students for ""bad"" behavior or rewards students for ""good"" or ""compliant"" behavior) to an approach that supports all students-even the most challenging ones-with kindness, creativity, acceptance, and love. Causton and MacLeod's approach: Focuses on students' strengths, gifts, and talents. Ignites students' creativity and sense of self-worth. Ensures that students' social, emotional, and academic needs are met. Prompts teachers to rethink challenging behavior and how they support their students. Helps teachers identify barriers to student success in the cultural, social, and environmental landscape. Inspires teachers to reconnect with their core values and beliefs about students and teaching. We need to transform our classrooms into places of love. To that end, this book represents a paradigm shift from a punitive mindset to a strengths-based, loving approach and encourages the radical act of creating more inclusive and caring schools.

The research is clear: Including students with disabilities in general education classrooms is the most effective way for all students to learn. If you are working toward greater inclusivity in your school or system, this book from educators and inclusion experts Julie Causton, Kate MacLeod, Kristie Pretti-Frontczak, Jenna Mancini Rufo, and Paul Gordon is an invaluable guide for you and your leadership team. Chock-full of research, resources, and seasoned advice, The Way to Inclusion walks you step-by-step through the inclusivity change process, from envisioning your path to reimagining the roles of existing staff and everything in between. The book outlines seven clearly defined milestones tied to an Action Plan that will help you stay the course with so vital an initiative. In addition to milestones and leadership questions, you'll find: Instructions for conducting an equity review of your system with a focus on special education. Guidance for creating and analyzing service-delivery maps, including before-and-after examples from systems that have successfully shifted to greater inclusivity. Classroom observation and staff survey tools. First-person accounts from educators who have undergone the change process. Best practices for developing an inclusivity-focused vision statement. Downloadable forms and templates to help you move forward with implementation. There is no excuse for segregating our students with disabilities from the rest of the student body. This indispensable guide will help you make certain that all students in your system not only learn but also thrive in the least restrictive environment possible.

What does a great paraprofessional need to know and do? You'll find real-world answers from two experts in the second edition of this bestselling guidebook. Passionate inclusion advocates Julie Causton and Kate MacLeod bring you a supremely practical guide to surviving and thriving as an integral part of your school's inclusive team. You'll get immediately applicable strategies for mastering every facet of your complex role: collaborating with other team members, selecting accommodations and modifications, facilitating peer connections, fading your support, and much more. And you'll find a treasure trove of tools-including activities, learning checks, reproducible templates, FAQs, and short to-do lists-to help you reflect on your practice and strengthen your daily work. An essential hands-on guide for new and seasoned paraprofessionals-and a must-have for the educators and other professionals who support them-this empowering book takes the guesswork out of this critical classroom role so you can help students with disabilities reach their full potential. WHAT'S NEW: New chapter on Respectful Support for Developing Student Independence More on key topics such as collaboration, presuming competence, and supporting social and academic success for students with diverse abilities New and updated research, practices, digital tools, resources, examples, quiz questions, and reflection activities throughout the book Package of online materials, including printable activities, forms, and worksheets