Special Needs

Be brave and shift the mindset—inclusion begins with recognizing all students as general education students. This book provides educators with practical tools, research, and renewed motivation to champion all learners. Organized around learning, living, and leading, it offers deeper dives into Yes We Can! practices, emphasizing how to implement them effectively.

Paula Maeker is an educator, consultant, and advocate for learner-centered education. She has more than twenty-three years’ experience as an elementary teacher, literacy specialist, instructional coach, Title 1 program coordinator, campus administrator, director of elementary literacy, and director of instructional design.

Mandy Barrett, EdD, currently serves as an elementary school principal in northwest Arkansas. She has over 20 years of experience working in high-poverty schools and schools with large ESL populations.

Dr. Amy Williams brings over 25 years of experience in education, specializing in fostering inclusive practices and systems-level change to improve student outcomes.

Kristen Bordonaro, EdD, has served as a school- and district-level administrator for the last 15 years. She’s worked with both private and public school districts as well as special education collaboratives. Dr. Bordonaro’s passion is in uniting school teams to support the needs of all students through an “all means all” model.

Jane Pedersen, EdD, is the director of student services in Fremont School District 79 in Illinois. She has previously served as assistant director of educational services, an elementary school assistant principal, and a school psychologist for Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in Illinois.

Amy Gluck is assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in Grayslake CCSD 46 in Illinois. Her work focuses on ensuring all students achieve high levels of learning.

Hillary Woest is a presenter, staff developer, and practitioner with over 24 years of experience in public education. She specializes in supporting Professional Learning Communities at Work® and Response to Intervention at Work™ in schools by helping them assess, refine, and optimize current systems of support for special populations and challenging demographics.

Brandon Jones, an author and consultant, works with educators to implement the Professional Learning Communities at Work® and RTI at Work™ processes. As a practitioner, he has served as a high school teacher and assistant principal, as well as a principal at the elementary, middle, and secondary level.

Heather serves as the superintendent of schools in Fox Lake District 114 in the northern Illinois suburbs. Her work focuses on ensuring learning for ALL in schools.