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"Mike McCarthy, principal of Portland's Helen King Middle School, shares his ideas for effective leadership in the following article for Edutopia. These are strategies that are infused with a great deal of common sense and compassion, which makes them that much more effective in the field of education.""

"Immigration's impact is often first seen in the classroom. The increasing diversity of the nation's education system is the most detailed measure of where immigrants have settled in recent years. View demographic changes in more than 17,000 school districts across the nation - including your own."

"Help us raise awareness about the hurtfulness of the R-word by pledging and sharing your stories year round."

"I don't know which side of the fence you are on in regard to inclusive education. And for all intents and purposes…it does not matter. This post could just as easily have been called, No…Really…I'm Not Crazy…Inclusive Education Works! Usually when I talk to people who are not familiar with the idea of having students with disabilities (including significant disabilities) in the general education setting they say they are having a hard time "wrapping their head around it" or want to see "what it actually looks like". So…just for those of you who need to see it to believe it, I have picked out five videos that will most definitely change your mind about whether inclusive education is really a good thing or not (or at least they should)."

"In my job as a special education advocate, and my other job as a parent of a child with special needs, I have been involved in too many Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings to count.  During these numerous IEP meetings I have met some wonderful, caring, knowledgeable, well meaning Teachers and School Personnel. I have also, at times, heard some of the most outrageous statements!!!  These ridiculous comments fly in the face of everything the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) stands for.  What you will find below are ten of most ridiculous statements that I have heard and why they are so ridiculous."

"Believing in students is not simply telling them that you believe in them. These words matter only if they are true and if you demonstrate them by your actions. There is no way to fake it, because kids have built in crap detectors (a phrase taken from Neil Postman, and Charles Weingartner, in Teaching As a Subversive Activity), and they can tell if you don't mean it. Here are some ways to express it."

"Education figureheads promote the mantra, "All Kids Can Learn". It's on the banners of our schools. Most of you reading this actually believe all kids can learn. But here is where the rubber meets the road. Some educators believe all kids can learn; therefore, some educators do not prescribe to this rhetoric. What's worse is that some educators say all kids can learn, but their actions and interactions fail to match their words. So here is today's test to see if we truly believe all kids can learn. Do we possess the ABC's of All Kids?"

"In Ohio, though, wide race gaps persist even on a level economic field."

"Baruti Kafele makes the case that the "attitude gap" that often affects underperforming students can only be closed if educators first help students develop the will to strive for excellence. In this thought-provoking webinar based on his latest book, Closing the Attitude Gap, Kafele offers practical strategies and illustrative anecdotes drawn from his 20-plus years as a teacher and principal in inner-city schools. "

"Elephant and Dog Best Friends - Terra and Bella - Dateline News "

"Bubbles the elephant and Bella the Labrador Retriever are best friends and have bonded over their love of water. They love to swim and play in the river together. Bubbles wants to spend time with Bella and makes it a game for Bella to climb and jump off her back. "

Henry has autism and fought to attend his neighborhood school. This is his presentation. - awesome!

"Deafblindness is a combination of vision and hearing losses. Most individuals who are deafblind have some usable hearing and vision. Even a small amount of hearing and vision loss can have a huge impact on a child's education and development."

"Society - and especially the fashion industry - often treats disabled people like they're invisible. So it's nice to see these men and women in the spotlight for a change."

"Inclusion is not about creating conformity to some pre-defined norm.  It is about creating the circumstance where each individual can come to understand their strength and value and then nurturing it in such a way that it will expand the entire community.  We don't lose our identity when we embrace diversity... we find and are empowered by both our individual and our collective identity. "

""We All Belong" is a documentary film exploring the issues of belonging and diversity in our classrooms. It profiles real parents and the dreams and fears they share. This film is a frank discussion of civil, human, and educational rights and offers a window into best practices and the struggle families face to achieve inclusion for their children."