Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event sponsored by the Inclusive Schools Network (ISN) and Stetson & Associates, Inc., which is held each year during the first full week in December. Since its inception in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors. The Week also provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.
This year, the Inclusive Schools Week’s theme focuses on the concept of being a hero. This is particularly fitting because the definition of a hero, a person noted for courageous acts of nobility of character, resonates with all of the students, parents, teachers, principals and community leaders who take courageous steps forward each day to promote acceptance for all. The path toward more inclusive educational services has been challenging, yet rewarding. This year, we will focus on the steps along this journey and consider the courage it requires.

Now that’s a mission I can get behind, and I think my book Emmanuel’s Dream, about one of my personal heroes, fits this theme perfectly! Emmanuel is not only a person with a disability, but he’s dedicated his life to creating an inclusive school for students with disabilities and without and his home country of Ghana.
Inclusive Schools Network has more great ideas and resources for celebrating Inclusive Schools Week here.
And Savanna Flakes has some other great suggestions for all ages here on MultiBriefs: Exclusive.
 

Third, the book is available for pre-order! If you’d like to reserve a signed copy, you may now order EMMANUEL’S DREAM from Secret Garden Books (please leave an extra week or so after the publication date for delivery, and indicate how you’d like it personalized in the “other notes about your order” field). It Is also available for pre-order on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Powell’s, or directly from the publisher, Schwartz & Wade/Random House.
Keep an eye out for more exciting news!

“When Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was born, his right leg was short and twisted—completely useless. It was 1977, and people with disabilities in Ghana, West Africa, were considered cursed, and left their homes only to beg for food or money. Emmanuel challenged the norm from his youngest days. Then, in 2001, he decided to prove that people with physical challenges could do amazing things, so he bicycled across Ghana—almost 400 miles—with one leg. His ten-day ride helped make him a virtual celebrity, but also a national hero. As a direct result of Emmanuel’s efforts, Ghana eventually enacted progressive disability laws.”

Her full announcement is on the Erin Murphy Literary Agency website, here.
Part of what makes this the ultimate dream come true for is that this is the story I could never let go of. It’s the first book I ever tried to write and has been through at least 30 MAJOR rewrites, changing genres and target age groups several times along the way, and varying in length from 200 words to 1500 words and everywhere in between. I’ve put it away, studied and learned, pondered and thought, written other things, and been pulled back to this one again countless times, over and over, for almost 7 years. This project has been my own personal 400-mile bike ride, one that I don’t know if I could have completed without the inspiration I’ve derived from the story itself. To have it be the first book of mine to sell AND to have it land in such a perfect, wonderful home at S&W is truly unbelievable. But please don’t pinch me, because this is one dream I don’t want to end.

An Update on Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Three years after Emmanuel’s Gift was released, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah shares an update on how his life has changed since that time. Find out about Emmanuel’s sports academy, his passion for soccer, his family and how he’s changed the lives of millions of people in Ghana.

If you’d like to read more about Emmanuel and his mission or find out how you can help, please visit his foundation’s web page here.
You can also read about him:

in this book

or this documentary.