Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute
Empowering leaders to build truly inclusive schools where exceptional learners thrive.
Program Participants
This program is designed for principals, principal managers and all leaders responsible for setting expectations, designing systems, and coaching teachers around inclusive practices. Participants work at a variety of PK-12 settings, including traditional school districts, independent schools, and charter management organizations across the U.S. We seek leaders who have foundational systems for data-informed instruction, observation and feedback, and who are eager to implement these systems in service of exceptional learners.
Leaders who have previously completed a Relay program are most likely to demonstrate readiness for ISLI. Participants can attend individually or with others from their school teams (e.g. A principal with their special education leaders, ESL leaders, assistant principals). We recommend that special education leaders join alongside their school leader, but it is not required.
Program Focus
The Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute prepares school leaders to build authentically inclusive schools designed to improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for exceptional learners. When leaders do this, they strengthen schools for all learners.
Leaders will engage in a three-pronged approach to building inclusive schools:
- Mindset examination
- Knowledge and skill building
- Systems redesign
Leaders will begin their work examining a core set of values that are essential to driving an inclusive culture and what it means to build systems designed to support students socially and emotionally. Leaders will then apply those values as they build upon the protocols mastered in Observation and Feedback and Weekly Data Meetings with a focus on coaching general educators to make grade level instruction accessible to diverse learners, coaching special educators to deliver high-quality specialized instruction, designing and implementing high-quality instructional and behavioral interventions, and analyzing data with the exceptional learner in mind.
Program Experience
The Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute (ISLI) is a one-year fellowship program consisting of a ½ day virtual orientation, a 4-day hybrid (in person/virtual) summer intensive, bi-weekly synchronous virtual coursework, and a hybrid end-of-year convening. Participants will benefit from:
- Expert faculty: Learn from experienced practitioners who have notable achievements.
- Feedback: Receive regular feedback on video assessments
- A network of peers: Solve problems alongside other high-performing peers facing the same challenges you are.
About Partnership
What makes a great partnership? Learn about more about what kind of organizations we work with and how we support them in Supporting Conditions and Infrastructure.
Or, look for answers to any general questions you may have on our FAQs page.
The information listed on this tab reflects School Year 2023-24 programming. This page will be updated by December 4, 2023 for School Year 2024-25 programs. The below is still a good representation of the program; some details may change.
Program Schedule
The ISLI program includes both in-person/hybrid and virtual programming. For the summer intensive and end-of-year convening, leaders have the option to attend either in-person or virtually. Both the in-person and virtual experiences occur simultaneously, via an “enhanced virtual classroom”, allowing the virtual audience to tune in and engage with the in-person audience.
Summer Intensive
July 12, 2023
July 17 - 20, 2023
½ day orientation | Virtual
4-day intensive | Virtual and in-person options (Washington, DC)
School Year Sessions
Sept. 2023 - May 2024
Biweekly evening sessions, 1x/ week | Virtual
May 2024
2 days | Location and modality TBD
Program Cost
$12,000 per participant
The program fee covers:
- High-quality instructional professional development from experienced leaders
- All course materials, licensing fees, and online access to electronic versions of resources
- Hotel rooms
- Breakfast, lunch, and snacks
Deadlines
Partner organizations should request seats for their leaders by the following deadlines. Seats are filled on a first-come-first-served basis and may fill up quickly.
Seat Request Form Opens: January 2nd, 2023
Seat Request Submission Deadline: May 1st, 2023
For more deadlines and details on requesting seats, see The Partnership Process.
For general questions about Leadership Programs, see our FAQs.
As a student in the Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute, I gained both the skills and confidence to build the leadership skills to create an inclusive school and academic support for all learners.
- Mary Beth Ingram
“As a student in the Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute, I gained both the skills and confidence to build the leadership skills to create an inclusive school and academic support for all learners. This program has allowed me to set a vision for an inclusive school and design an inclusive culture among staff and scholars. The program was intentionally organized with respect to readiness in data-driven instruction, specializing instruction and effective coaching. The final project allowed me to make changes within our school that had a direct positive impact on our student and adult culture. I would highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to expand their leadership and make their school a more inclusive environment.”
—Mary Beth Ingram
Dean of Special Services, Achievement First Bushwick Elementary School
Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute, 2019
We are so excited to see the measurable progress not only in our students' achievement levels but in the continuous prioritization of Exceptional Learners by our faculty!
- Vanessa Cartwright
“Participating in ISLI has had such a tremendous impact on how Exceptional Learners are supported on our campus! We have been able to establish our ‘why’ around implementing Universal Design for Learning, adjust our collaboration structures to allow for general education and special education teachers to proactively lesson plan and analyze data, and we have adjusted our data analysis and observation protocols to prioritize progress for our Exceptional Learners. We are so excited to see the measurable progress not only in our students' achievement levels but in the continuous prioritization of Exceptional Learners by our faculty!”
—Vanessa Cartwright
San Antonio Independent School District
ISLI, 2021
Student data soared at the campuses where I rolled out Relay projects and performance tasks and eventually I was able to implement the projects and performance tasks at most campuses in my portfolio.
- Ashley Wheeler
“Being a part of Relay’s SELA [ISLI] allowed me to systemize processes that drove forward equity for all learners. I was able to transform my practices to focus on utilizing a collaborative approach and ensuring that exceptional learners are the responsibility of our whole school system. Relay courses were organized in a manner that allowed me to put my learning into practice through projects and performance tasks to operationalize my organization’s Special Education practices to enhance the efficacy of instructional coaches, campus leaders and teachers’ knowledge, learning, and coaching skills. Student data soared at the campuses where I rolled out Relay projects and performance tasks and eventually I was able to implement the projects and performance tasks at most campuses in my portfolio.”
—Ashley Wheeler
IDEA Public Schools
ISLI alum 2019
News
ISLI was spotlighted as a standout leadership program in a report on leadership pipeline programs that demonstrate a commitment to equity through an intentional focus on exceptional learners.
Partnering with Relay
Learn more about how to partner, including important application dates and how we support you. This page is relevant to past partners, but especially those who are new to Relay.
Interested in Signing Up?
If you’re already a partner of Relay, sign up your staff for programs: