About the Company

Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle provided live mini-workshops on collaborative teaching and family engagement as requested by school leaders. Those leaders (5 schools) provided reinforcement, but we discovered what’s confirmed in research — that workshops have little impact on teaching practices.

Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle revised and expanded her collection of mini-workshops based on feedback, adding in-person coaching and leadership expectations (8 schools). We discovered that teachers started experimenting with new practices. A few teachers established new routines and saw improvement in student learning.

Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle created the Collaborative Teaching e-Course with online video modules and downloadable reflective journals so teachers and leaders could access them flexibly.
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle conducted a beta test of Collaborative Teaching within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) followed by in-person coaching and leadership reinforcement (6 schools). She used feedback for revision and launched our Inclusion Rounds Rubric for evaluating change in teacher practice.

Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle created the Specially Designed Instruction e-Course, grounded in new expectations since the Endrew F. Supreme Court Decision (2017) and federally sponsored websites with high leverage and evidence-based practices, featuring cartoon animation scenarios.
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle field tested Collaborative Teaching online video modules with Teacher & Facilitator Guides (9 schools) and Specially Designed Instruction (1 school). We refined the PLC process and updated the Guides to include virtual learning components. We revised our Inclusion Rounds Rubric and established data collection protocols.
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle piloted the Inclusion Coach Breakthrough Course to build capacity of local district coaches (7 local coaches) to support inclusive instructional practices.

IFC Inclusion Coaches (6) were subcontracted to provide on-site technical assistance and coaching, using the Joyful Inclusion® approach. They supported implementation of Collaborative Teaching and Specially Designed Instruction e-Courses (14 schools).
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle created Inclusive School Communities online video modules, centered in teacher action research to explore ways that Universal Design for Learning guidelines enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle conducted a beta test (1 school).
Dr. Amy Pleet-Odle & IFC Inclusion Coaches facilitated Inclusion Coach Breakthrough Course and Coaching Mastery Course (10 local coaches).
IFC Inclusion Coaches and new Joyful Inclusion Evaluator contributed to development of Flexible Grouping and Needs Based Inclusive Scheduling supplemental workshops, our Sustainability Blueprint, and the Joyful Inclusion Values Evaluation System (JIVES).

Our team created Foundations tools - including our Data Dashboard - designed so that each school Principal will be empowered to lead and monitor the Joyful Inclusion® School Initiative in their school.
We piloted Paraprofessionals in Action, a companion course to Collaborative Teaching, to support paraprofessionals.
We updated our initial course and renamed it Collaborative Teaching for Student-Centered Learning to incorporate an explicit emphasis on collaboration across the faculty, student driven learning, and collective efficacy.
We revised Joyful Inclusion Coaching Courses to mentor local inclusion coaches in strategies to support transformed mindsets and approaches for inclusion, and we added a system for coaches’ accountability.
Our proven method expanded to 4 states with additional IFC Inclusion Coaches. We created replication systems and procedures to structure implementation and allow us to flexibly tailor our approach to the unique circumstances of new schools and districts. We supported school leaders to create structures for sustainability.

In a commitment to have a broader influence on inclusive practice, we launched our Joyful Inclusion Community at the Council for Exceptional Children’s International Convention. Membership was open to any individual with a commitment to practice joyful inclusion.
Initial features included an online Forum discussion area to stimulate a positive discourse about inclusion, to collaboratively problem-solve, and to celebrate victories; a curated Library of tools and resources to equip members in their inclusive journey; regular Webinars on targeted topics of interest to members; and a monthly Inclusion Power Hour with guest experts, team members, and community members brainstorming together on focused dilemmas.

Have questions about Joyful Inclusion?