Universally Designed Leadership: Applying UDL to Systems and Schools

UDL cannot be understood only as an educational framework for teachers to implement, they will need the support from the administration, this book serves as the perfect guide for educational leaders to introduce, help in the implementation and nurture the UDL journey of their campuses.

This is one of the few professional development books I have read where I really get something out of every chapter. Great resources and strategies to start moving forward with Universal Design for Learning in your school or district. I took the online course for this book and that really enhanced my learning.

This book is well-researched, well-written, well-organized, and is supported by practical advice and usable tools for implementation. I especially like the analogies the authors use to make new ideas more accessible and understandable. I find this book very useful in my practice as a mentor/coach for new school administrators. If I were still a school superintendent, I would definitely use it with my administrative team. I am eagerly awaiting the second volume!

Great read! Highly recommend

I purchased a copy of this book for the members of my administrative team as part of the training we are doing on Universally Designed Learning and Leadership. It received excellent feedback from all who read. It is an excellent resource on the nuts and bolts of UDL as well the evidence to support its efficacy. In addition to the more complex information on the components of using a UDL framework for decision making and leadership it also has excellent guidance on the practical pieces of how to embed UDL into your work. The authors clearly show how UDL is aligned to the work you are likely already doing which is super important to school leaders trying to balance many things!

I got to see one of the authors present at a conference and was motivated by the high quality presentation to read this book (library copy). The writing about UDL is great, easy to understand and a blueprint to implementing UDL for the first time in your district. However there is a glaring error in the beginning of chapter 1: "At some point, you came to understand that heavier objects fall faster than those with less mass." Well, if you learned that then you would have missed the point of the lesson (or the teacher missed it). See YouTube for many elegant demonstrations of the opposite. This is only in the chapter as a clunky intro to the authors' point: that (like physics) we may know leadership basics but that the process of leadership is much more complex. But it does make me question the care in writing and editing this book and if there are other factual errors.

A true indicator of an outstanding professional read can be determined by the number of post-it notes and highlights used to tag important pages and essential information. After reading Universally Designed Leadership, there were post-it notes and highlighted text on just about every page! It is a must read for all leaders-regardless of the number of years of leadership education or experience.The Five Phases of UDL implementation, outlined in this book, provides a framework for districts and school leaders to make system-wide sustainable improvements through a process where all stakeholders can work together to: identify problems and barriers to success, analyze essential data to make evidenced-based decisions, set measurable, attainable and actionable goals and monitor fidelity to the implementation process resulting in innovative, safe and supportive learning environments for all students.

Our school district is currently using UNIVERSALLY DESIGNED LEADERSHIP as a study guide to assist us in implementing inclusive practices-a concept I firmly believe in. Kristan and Katie clearly articulate the why, the how and the what of UDL which makes this a particularly valuable resource. One of the many strengths of this book are the practical recommendations for research-based practices that promote equitable learning opportunities for all children! I highly recommend this book!