9:00 - 9:50 AM
UC Davis Redwood SEED Scholars and Mentors
9:50 - 10:00 AM
Teresa Burnett - DJ B Diamond
DJ
Aspiring Actress & Model
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Does the way we think impact our inclusion efforts? Of course. Does the way others think impact our efforts? Yes!
In this session, you will learn three simple yet powerful ways to overcome the most common barriers to inclusion. Instantly apply a process to understand the impact of beliefs, suspend bias and turn daily actions into powerful experiences to accelerate your inclusion efforts.
Vince Martinez
Senior Consulting Partner
Culture Partners
Disabilities take many forms, including visible and invisible disabilities. The same can be said about discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Based on the firm belief that Universal Design for Learning can help create a community of belonging for all, this session will start the conversation about ableism from the perspective of people with disabilities. We will learn from the personal journeys of parents and educators confronting their own ableism. Through these conversations, participants will gain tools to recognize and challenge ableism within their school community.
Larkin O'Leary
COO/Cofounder
Common Ground Society
Harmony Harvell
Elementary School Principal
Emily King
Parent Advocate
All Students benefit from having a High School Diploma. This session will focus on the alternative paths to a high school diploma that exist in California Education Code, including students with disabilities. Recently enacted legislation offers new opportunities to prepare students for a transition to employment and post-secondary education. We will explore the connection between the course of study that culminates in a high school diploma and all aspects of transition planning.
Sue Sawyer
President
California Transition Alliance
Vicki Shadd
Vice President
California Transition Alliance
This session describes the process of a Coaching for Equity series implemented at one California school district, which focused on building the capacity of district-wide coaches. The content for this series focused on inclusive practices, co-teaching, and Universal Design for Learning. This Coaching for Equity series brought various district-wide coaches together to build community and connection, create a common language and understanding around equitable practices for all students, utilize data to inform practices and build the capacity for coaches around inclusive practices, including tools for implementation. Attendees will learn implementation strategies for their district-wide coaches' growth and development in supporting equity and inclusion.
Audri Sandoval Gomez, Ph.D.
Co-Director
Thompson Policy Institute on Disability
Jill Perez
Program Specialist
Thompson Policy Institute on Disability
Shayne Brophy-Felbab, Ph.D.
K-12 Learning Specialist
Thompson Policy Institute on Disability
Megan Gross
Inclusive Practices Teacher on Special Assignment
Poway Unified School District
11:00 - 11:10 AM
Teresa Burnett - DJ B Diamond
DJ
Aspiring Actress & Model
11:10 - 12:10 PM
In schools, we far too often silo our work and initiatives being done in the area of inclusion and social-emotional learning (SEL). In fact, SEL can serve as a strong foundation for inclusive practices at any grade level. This workshop will investigate the many points of connection between SEL and inclusion along with the benefits of intentionally integrating these two areas of work. Additionally, we will consider various ways that schools can easily begin to integrate these two practices into one.
Sam Drazin
Executive Director
Changing Perspectives
People enter the teaching profession to support the learning and development of students. However, an uncomfortable reality of education is that students have historically been segregated by race and disability. Often beginning in preschool, students with these identity markers are expelled at higher rates and are found eligible for services in subjective disability categories. With a majority white teacher workforce and the growing racial/ethnic and ability diversity of the student population, educators must integrate a critical lens to proactively challenge how their unrecognized biases may hinder their relationships with and the success of students. By engaging in reflective internal examination, referred to by Paulo Freire as "critical consciousness", educators are more likely to use an asset-based approach. In addition, they are more likely to design and implement equitable instructional practices that align with their own positive intentions and the goals of inclusive education.
Dr. Jacquelyn M. Urbani
Associate Professor & Director of Early Childhood Special Education
Mills College @ Northeastern University
Dr. Cindy Collado
Associate Professor
Sacramento State University
There is much discussion about inclusive instruction for students with extensive supports (ESN), and there are many examples of school transformation efforts related to inclusive instruction. There is little discussion, however, about facilitating sustainable systemic change in education systems that facilitate inclusive instruction for all students, including those with ESN. Effective systemic change efforts require a clear understanding of evidence- and research-based inclusive instruction practices and the extent to which current education practices align with those practices, as well as a commitment of stakeholder groups (e.g., general and special education administrators and teachers, curriculum specialists, parents) at all levels of the system (e.g., state, district, school) to change services to increase that alignment. This session will share tool for systemic self-reflection and processes for using those tools to identify relevant goals and an action plan for sustainable systemic change that facilitate inclusive instruction for all students, including students with ESN.
Diane Ryndak
Professor
TIES/University of North Carolina Greensboro/Zenodotus Associates
Dr. Deborah Taub
Professor/Founder
OTL Education Solutions, LLC
Welcome, you plucky Rebels, to the path to implementing Universal Design for Learning. It’s a long journey, fraught with challenges and opportunities. The Imperial forces of rigid practices and one-size-fits-all stands in your way at every step. But fear not, for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) has partnered with CAST to bring you the UDL Journey Guide, a comprehensive guide to the path, the people, and the tools necessary to implement UDL with intention and fidelity.
Join UDL Jedi Masters, James McKenna and Zach Smith, as they introduce you to the UDL Journey Guide and help you wield this powerful force for inclusive learning.
James McKenna, Ed.D
Assistant Director, Professional Learning & Leadership Development
California Collaborative for Educational Excellence
Zach Smith Ed.L.D.
Senior Project Director
WestEd
12:10 - 12:40 PM
12:40 - 2:00 PM
Diana Pastora Carson, M.Ed.
Inclusion Ally, Educator, Sibling, Speaker, and Podcaster
Beyond Inclusion Awareness
9:00 - 9:50 AM
Andratesha Fritzgerald, Ed.S.
Author, Educational Leader, Inspirational Speaker, and Founder
Building Blocks of Brilliance
09:50 - 10:00 AM
Teresa Burnett - DJ B Diamond
DJ
Aspiring Actress & Model
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Hear from a panel of District Leaders within the East Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), including Cabinet-level administrators who were instrumental in shifting the culture and mindset in their Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to create opportunities for inclusion. A joint professional development partnership with Ventura County SELPA led to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) training from Katie Novak and Shelley Moore, sparking the fire for change. The panel will share the East Valley SELPA Ribbon of Inclusion award developed to recognize and honor inclusive actions at school sites.
Dr. Patty Metheny
Chief Administrative Director
East Valley SELPA
Jennifer Brooksby
Program Manager
East Valley SELPA
Jim Stolze
Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District
Dr. Cherina Betters
Chief of Equity and Access
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
In this learn-by-doing workshop, participants will learn inclusive strategies that drive student social-emotional learning through student-led arts integration. Everyday Arts prides itself on delivering fun, hands-on workshops that include collaborative art-making, group discussion, reflective practice, and lesson planning. Our activities center on game-based play and creative inquiry, utilizing music, visual arts, drama, and movement activities aligned to the California Arts Standards. We will explore how to identify and support various learning styles and needs for all learners, focusing on inclusive practices. Everyday Arts' transformational curriculum and methodology are rooted in ten years of research and implementation with the United States Department of Education, the New York State Department of Education, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Matt Bogdanow
Co-Founder
Everyday Arts
Noemy Hernandez
Co-Founder
Everyday Arts
What does it mean to collaborate across district departments? Join our session and hear how one large school district breaks down educational silos to promote inclusive education. Attendees will learn how to re-design professional learning systems that empower staff to support ALL students.
Megan Gross
Inclusive Practices Teacher on Special Assignment
Poway Unified School District
Trenace Sevilla
Curriculum and Instruction Teacher on Special Assignment
Poway Unified School District
Jamie LaFuze
English Learner Program Coordinator
Poway Unified School District
Amy Fousek
Technology and Innovation Coach
Poway Unified School District
Laura Snow
Inclusive Practices Teacher on Special Assignment
Poway Unified School District
Kimberlie Rens
Executive Director II Learning Support Services
Poway Unified School District
Past approaches to inclusion of students with disabilities were driven by IEP processes that addressed academic and behavioral needs. The equity efforts in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District expanded the view of inclusion and the role school culture plays in its success. Presenters will speak about the impact of culture-building initiatives such as the Inclusive Peer Mentoring course. Participants will learn how to replicate this program and will hear about the transformation of the district’s inclusive practices as reflected in the personal experiences of staff, parents, and students. A sense of belonging and connection is a critical component of a high school experience. Inclusive practices build on this culture and develop a system of connections through co- and extra-curricular activities. This direction impacts both, students with and without disabilities by providing life-changing experiences and growth opportunities.
Dr. Zhanna Preston
Murrieta Valley Unified School District
Executive Director, Special Education
Brandi Heise
Vista Murrieta High School
Teacher
11:00 - 11:10 AM
Teresa Burnett - DJ B Diamond
DJ
Aspiring Actress & Model
11:10 - 12:10 PM
For educators who are interested in inclusive education but perhaps have not made up their minds about what it is or why it is important, hearing a story about how someone made the personal transformation from an inclusion skeptic to an inclusive education advocate may help them solidify their thoughts. They can see themselves in that story, inspiring them to change their practice and school system. For this presentation, I will tell the story of how I became an inclusionist and worked to subvert the segregated educational systems where I taught in California (Pasadena Unified School District) and Georgia (Cobb County School District).
Tim Villegas
Director of Communications
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE)
Explore an approach to a fully-inclusive TK program that embeds student choice, Universal Design for Learning, and push-in special education services to benefit all students. In this session, presenters will describe an alternative model to co-teaching that leverages campus staff, family volunteers, and community members to create a dynamic learning environment for all students. Participants will receive digital resources to start learning stations at their own schools.
Alisha Crowe
General Education Teacher
CHIME Charter School
Adie Buchinsky
Special Education Teacher and TOSA
CHIME Charter School
This session provides a streamlined approach to instructional practices that will allow educators to see the bigger picture of the initiatives, resources, and criteria that are part of the demand of everyday teaching. This interactive session will engage participants with aligned practices to foster systems that support students' social-emotional learning through the integration of High Leverage Practices (HLPs), California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Checkpoints, and The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework Core Competencies. Participants will be guided through the resource: Supporting SEL Through Connected Practices, which grew from a collaboration between the presenters and Katie Novak, Novak Education.
Shannon Goodbeau-Gorlicki
Improvement Facilitator
System Improvement Leads (SIL)
Ashley MacGavin
Improvement Facilitator
System Improvement Leads (SIL)
Decades of research tell us that high-quality education and child development programs can meet the needs of children with disabilities. We know what is required to make inclusion successful. However, two years of a global pandemic have made quality inclusion more challenging. Children’s needs have increased while the capacity of schools and programs has decreased. Staff shortages, adult burn-out, and a high turnover of caregivers are headwinds to inclusion. Leaders from Kids Included Together (KIT) will share how a just-in-time approach to provider-centered support can help meet the current needs and ensure meaningful inclusion.
Torrie Dunlap
Chief Executive Officer
Kids Included Together
Alissa Marotto
Research, Evaluation, and Policy Director
Kids Included Together
12:10 - 12:40 PM
12:40 - 2:00 PM
Andratesha Fritzgerald, Ed.S.
Author, Educational Leader, Inspirational Speaker, and Founder
Building Blocks of Brilliance