Your Students, My Students, Our Students by Lee Ann Jung & Nancy Frey & Douglas Fisher & Julie Kroener Summary

Your Students, My Students, Our Students challenges traditional special education practices by advocating for equitable, inclusive classrooms. Co-authored by Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener, it proposes five systemic shifts: fostering inclusive school cultures, rethinking service delivery models, leveraging educator collaboration, prioritizing student aspirations, and redesigning intervention strategies. The book combines research with real-world examples to guide schools toward meaningful inclusion.

This book is essential for all educators—general and special education teachers, administrators, and policymakers—committed to dismantling barriers in education. It offers actionable strategies for school leaders driving cultural change and classroom teachers seeking collaborative approaches to support neurodiverse learners. Its principles apply to K-12 settings and beyond.

Yes—it’s a visionary yet practical resource for transforming inclusion practices. The authors, renowned experts in inclusive education, provide frameworks like the MAPs process for goal-setting and tools to address systemic inequities. Real-life success stories and step-by-step guidance make it valuable for educators at any career stage.

The authors outline five critical shifts:

• Building school cultures rooted in equity and belonging.
• Replacing restrictive service models with flexible, inclusive structures.
• Harnessing all educators’ strengths through shared responsibility.
• Collaborating on instruction, intervention, and assessment.
• Centering students’ aspirations in individualized planning.

It advocates for the MAPs (Making Action Plans) process, where students, families, and educators collaboratively design goals tied to long-term aspirations. The book also promotes Goal Attainment Scaling to track progress and emphasizes starting early to align educational plans with students’ dreams.

Key challenges include:

• Overreliance on segregated classrooms and labels.
• Inequitable resource distribution.
• Cultural resistance to inclusion as a shared responsibility.
• Low expectations for students with disabilities.

It urges collective accountability: general and special educators co-teaching, sharing expertise, and jointly problem-solving. The book stresses ongoing professional development and leadership support to dismantle silos between roles.

The authors argue that aspirations drive motivation and self-advocacy. By aligning goals with students’ visions for their futures (e.g., careers, independence), educators foster hope and agency. Practical tools, like aspirational planning templates, help teams operationalize this approach.

Lee Ann Jung (clinical professor, San Diego State University) and co-authors are internationally recognized for research in inclusion, Universal Design for Learning, and grading reform. Jung alone has 25+ years of experience as a teacher, consultant, and author of eight education books.

While Jung’s earlier books focus on assessment and grading, this title prioritizes systemic change for inclusion. It expands on her Seen, Heard, and Valued by addressing collaboration and cultural shifts, offering a roadmap for entire schools—not just individual classrooms.