Inclusive education is a catalyst for improving outcomes for all students. In an inclusive school all adults share the responsibility for each and every child. Membership and belonging, participation, and learning common core-aligned curriculum are all components of providing an equitable educational experience.  This session will support participants’ courageous commitment to inclusive education. Participants will explore a framework and indicators for inclusion in order to better understand the components of an inclusive school experience. Outcomes: 1. Develop a foundational understanding of the Conceptual Framework for Inclusive Education (Jorgenson et. al, 2010) and the Maryland Coalition of Inclusive Education’s (MCIE) Indicators of Inclusion. 2. Collaboratively explore how to continue to further a culture of belonging and inclusion for all students within the school building and classroom.

Participants can expect to explore how UDL, inclusivity, diversity, and play come together within the preschool classroom. I will share how we can all learn from how a young child learns uniquely, how to play, learn, and build the skills they need to progress through the grades and onto life outside of school. The expected outcome is for participants to come back to the vision and joy of a young child's experience of learning through play and how, as teachers, we can ensure each child has the opportunity to play in their own unique way.

Participants will learn about StoryboardThat, a website where students can create comics to support their understanding of texts. I will explain how creating a visual supports students' comprehension of setting, tone, and character development across multiple genres. I have used this website to facilitate textual analysis with sixth graders reading Jason Reynolds's novel Ghost and ninth graders reading Shakespeare's Othello. After this presentation, I hope participants will consider implementing this website or similar activities to assess their students' comprehension and support close reading practices.

This session is designed to offer a structured approach in understanding and planning your event with inclusion in mind. Through discussion, you will come away with a greater understanding of DEI and what it means to you as an event professional. Bring your questions, experiences and ideas at this interactive session.

Participants can expect to learn assistive technologies for reading and writing that help level the playing field for students with learning disabilities. We will visit 4 learning challenge scenarios and apply assistive technology tools that help students improve their learning. I have over 30 years of experience in education and 9 years of experience working at Hyde Park Day School, a school for students with learning disabilities.

Increasingly diverse classrooms require educators who can bridge the distance between a student’s life, culture, and knowledge base and our schools. Yet many educators do not have a path toward this connection. How can we successfully teach our students if we don’t connect with, and center, their various identities? This workshop will address how identity––teachers’ identities and their students’ identities––can help us build bridges between students and the reading and writing classroom. Educators will learn how to use identity activities, children’s literature, and other techniques to support student engagement in the elementary classroom.

The Bridge Academics workshop will provide valuable insights into supporting a first-year college student. This presentation is designed to equip parents and support professionals with the necessary tools and knowledge to provide effective support during this critical transition. During the presentation, you will learn the essential life skills required for success in the first year of college, including time management, organization, and effective communication. You will also explore your optimal role in supporting your first-year college student and learn how to provide the necessary support without interfering with their independence. We will discuss the value of transitional support services, such as academic advising, and how they can contribute to your child's success. You will also learn about proactive interventions to prepare for the time at home and the school years before starting college. Additionally, we will help you plan and visualize a successful start to college by identifying on-campus supports and how to access them with your first-year college student. Finally, you will leave the presentation with practical strategies and actionable steps to implement immediately to ensure your child's success in their first year of college. Take this opportunity to learn how to support your first-year college student effectively. Learning Objectives Attending the Bridge Academics session will help participants to: Identify essential life skills for first-year college students Recognize their optimal role in providing support for their first-year college student Discuss the value of transitional support services with their first-year college student Suggest proactive interventions to navigate their child’s time in high school and between graduation and the start of college. Plan and visualize a successful start to college by identifying on-campus supports and how to access them with your first-year college student.

Inclusive education is a catalyst for improving outcomes for all students. In an inclusive school all adults share the responsibility for each and every child. Collaborative teams include educators and other school service providers who engage in partnerships to achieve positive outcomes for all learners in a general education class. Collaborative teams cultivate trusting relationships and engage in practices and norms that result in shared ownership and creative problem solving.  This session will support participants’ courageous commitment to inclusive education. Participants will explore a variety of tools and resources to support teams of educators in ensuring all students’ access to, and participation in, general education curriculum.   Outcomes include understanding the “why” and the purpose of collaborative teaming, examining the roles and responsibilities within collaborative teams, and exploring tools for bridging the gap between the foundation of general education practices (e.g. UDL) and individual student planning (e.g accommodations, specially designed instruction)

Dive into the transformative power of playful learning! Discover how playful approaches can ignite engagement, foster inclusion, and empower all students to thrive. Explore playful practices: get hands-on with playful learning activities designed for various subjects/grade levels, different abilities, and neurodiverse needs. Educators will leave with ideas about practical tools (from recyclables, LEGO bricks, and robots) and resources to implement playful learning in their own classrooms. The dynamic duo of MarGilly (Maggie Lu and Jen Gilbert) share a passion for inclusive education. For the last 6 years, they have worked collaboratively to bring playful learning and individualized instruction to students with learning disabilities in a variety of settings. With over 30 years of combined experience in education, they have witnessed the power of playful learning and enjoy sharing their experience with others.

From this presentation, participants can expect to explore the potential for designing culturally relevant assessments, routines, and systems that cultivate student thinking. Participants will have the opportunity to re-envision learning experiences that position students to reference their cultural fluencies and cognitive styles and reconsider the types of writing traditionally assigned in school. This presentation explores the way in which the genre of Commentary can be used as a tool for cultivating student centered thinking and writing with a focus on community, inquiry, synthesis, and meaning making. It will focus on how teaching conceptually and with a story-based curriculum is an inclusive practice that empowers students to access their interests and cultural niches as they progress toward specific academic outcomes. Research is rooted in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Neuroscience (Neuroteach), Social Emotional Learning, and the teaching of reading and writing via Constructivist theory. 

Using ArtScience methodology, I represent the merging of stars by employing diverse software for three-dimensional topographical data visualizations of gravitational waves, fostering public accessibility and inclusivity for a tangible connection to abstract multi-messenger data. The goal of this research project was to connect science and art in a way that assists the blind and low-vision (BLV) community, as well as add to the current visualization methods for the deaf and hard of hearing. I would like to stimulate conversation about utilizing contemporary art as a vessel for scientific communication as well as forging innovative methods for describing highly abstract data. My background in astrophysics and research at Northwestern's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) has brought me face-to-face with abstract data. I utilize my background in the visual arts to explore this data from a new perspective, integrating my knowledge of 3D printing and sonification.

Learn about various types of speech and language disorders. Explore how a speech and language disorder might impact a child in the classroom. Discuss practical speech and language strategies to ensure all students are supported and included in the classroom.

With the recent discussions around the Science of Reading, reading remediation has received a lot of attention from educators. In some instances, focus has shifted attention away from the importance of math remediation. Data from the NAEP indicates that by 4th grade, there is a 29-point gap between students with and without disabilities who are performing at proficient or advanced levels. This leads teachers to wonder how to manage remediation when teaching grade-level skills and to question which remedial skills to prioritize. Marisa Churchill and Sarah Imboden, both Certified Multisensory Math Coaches in Marilyn Zecher’s Multisensory Math Approach, suggest strategies from Multisensory Math, the What Works Clearinghouse, evidence from neuroscience, and the traditional Orton-Gillingham methodology. They will show how to use student data and Achieve the Core to create a diagnostic-prescriptive scope and sequence that fits with any math curriculum. Once teachers have a plan, they can utilize the Flexible Multisensory Math Lesson Plan for Intervention, based on the Joyce Steeves original, to address unfinished learning in conjunction with teaching grade-level concepts. Teachers will leave this session with the tools to create their own diagnostic-prescriptive plan that correlates to the assessments and curriculum at their school. They will also have a lesson plan template to implement this plan.

A combination of simulation and discussion to understand first-hand what it is like to have a learning disability. Participants should expect to be open and to participate wholly with the session to leave the session with a greater sense of empathy for their studdents.