After decades of reform, America's public schools continue to fail particular groups of students; the greatest opportunity gaps are faced by those whose achievement is hindered by complex stressors, including disability, trauma, poverty, and institutionalized racism. When students' needs overwhelm the neighborhood schools assigned to serve them, they are relegated to increasingly isolated educational environments. Unconditional Education (UE) offers an alternate approach that transforms schools into communities where all students can thrive. It reduces the need for more intensive and costly future remediation by pairing a holistic, multi-tiered system of supports with an intentional focus on overall culture and climate, and promotes systematic coordination and integration of funding and services by identifying gaps and eliminating redundancies to increase the efficient allocation of available resources. This book is an essential resource for mental health and educational stakeholders (i.e., school social workers, therapists, teachers, school administrators, and district-level leaders) who are interested in adopting an unconditional approach to supporting the students within their schools.
Unconditional Education outlines an approach by which schools serve students through the integration of special education, general education, and mental health systems. In building the capacity of their communities, schools can meet the needs of their most marginalized students and create inclusive environments in which all students have the opportunity to thrive.
A must-read book for achieving breakthrough results in America's education system. Ensuring all children can succeed begins with deep cross-sector partnerships; integration across education, human services, and children's behavioral health; and believing in the promise of every child within the context of their school, family, and community. The authors understand that the evidence-based approach and values in child- and family-centered wraparound are core to the success we seek. Wraparound is not a 'program' to replicate for some children, but rather a system-wide orientation that gives every child the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential.
