ISLES: Strategic Leadership for Inclusive Student Support By Cindy Warner-Dobrowski, Priscilla Leighton, Kristel Solomon-Saleem and Trina Cobbledick Graphics by Kimberley Fung and Michael Sawatsewi
20 EARCOS Triannual Journal 42
International schools have been on a journey to become more inclusive over the past several years. A 2020 survey found that learning support programs are “an established feature of most international schools” (ISC Research, 2020, p. 24). However, the definition of inclusion has evolved from a relatively narrow definition about student learning needs to one that encompasses all aspects of diversity. According to Next Frontier Inclusion (NFI), “[a]n international school is inclusive when it has made the intentional decision to develop diverse student & faculty populations that reflect society as a whole, including multilingual learners & students with diverse learning profiles. These schools take a systems approach to building capacity amongst stakeholders, offering universal design for access to all aspects of school life.” (NFI, 2020, cited in ISC Research, 2020, p. 4.) Students learn best when all aspects of their identity are considered in the development of programs, curriculum and lesson design. While much progress has been made in admitting students with diverse support needs into international schools, the next step is to ensure that all students have access to support that facilitates them in meeting their learning and personal potential, and experiencing a sense of belonging in their school community.
Our Why
The International Schools Leaders of Educational Support (ISLES) Collaborative was founded in recognition of the need to support school leaders in the strategic development of high-quality support programs in international schools, and the aspiration to support each other in attaining this goal. We began with a small group of international school-wide support leaders gathering in Singapore in February 2020, weeks before the world shut down due to the global pandemic. ISLES hosted the International MTSS conference online in 2020-21. Today, ISLES continues to be the go-to source of support and community for over 70 leaders of learning support worldwide.