Mary Beth Moore on Fighting for Belonging in Education

Mary Beth Moore — Author of Unwanted: Fighting to Belong and founder/executive director of The Advocacy Underground. She studied political science and criminal justice at UNC Charlotte, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, worked as a DoD intelligence analyst and later as a marketing leader. She uses storytelling to make special education law and research accessible to families and educators. She’s also Gavin’s mom.When school leaders say yes to inclusion, everything changes. In this conversation, Mary Beth Moore shares how her son Gavin—who has Down syndrome, is nonverbal, and is still working on early literacy and numeracy—thrives in a fourth‑grade general education classroom because a principal chose to welcome him and build support. She contrasts that with systems that default to no, explores why implementation (not new law) is the bottleneck, and offers practical ways families and districts can move from conflict to collaboration. The through‑line: inclusion isn’t about meeting grade‑level benchmarks—it’s about belonging, support, and leadership willing to try.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/mary-beth-moore-unwanted-2/