EXCHANGE Sessions – Presenter Bios
Adapted PE Process Jennifer Montalvo, Special Education Facilitator, Tyler ISD Liz Adams, Low Incidence Specialist, Region VII Service Center
Jennifer Montalvo is a supervisor over all self-contained programming and programming in the large 5A district.
Liz Adams has been in Special Education for 31 years. She is a certified O&M Instructor, Special Education Teacher with a minor in physical education. She is currently working as the Low Incidence Specialist for Region 7 and has been in this position for 11 years.
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Building Agency Collaboration Mary Milham M.Ed., Special Education Coordinator with Region 7 Education Service Center
Ms. Milham is an educator with 20 years of public school experience in Texas. She is currently a Special Education Coordinator with Region 7 Education Service Center where she specializes in Secondary Transition program areas. Her experience includes training in a variety of areas encompassing high school graduation and secondary transition.
Collaboration of ISD Special Education and the county CRCG Kathi Perez, Director
Ms. Perez has been the Director of Corsicana RDSPD for 14 years, and the Chair of Navarro County CRCG for 13 years. ______
Extracurricular Athletic Participation -- Where Do We Go From Here? Janet Little Horton, Attorney Thompson & Horton Brad Domangue, Attorney, Thompson & Horton
Ms. Horton has advised public schools on IDEA and 504 issues for more than 30 years. Through consultation, ARD committee attendance, mediation and litigation, Ms. Horton assists school staff in resolving problems regarding serving children with disabilities. Her depth of knowledge and practical experience make her a valuable resource for school staff as well as participants in the frequent presentations she makes at the local , state and national level.
Bradley Domangue focuses his practice on the representation of schools, colleges, and other public entities. Prior to joining Thompson & Horton, Mr. Domangue worked in education law and policy as an attorney, a legislative aide, a senior policy analyst, and a journalist. He has worked on various educational issues including school finance, special education, student discipline, employment law, construction, Section 504, Title IX, and the public information and open meetings act. EXCHANGE Sessions – Presenter Bios
FIE to PLAAFP: Communication is Key Sonya Burnett, M.Ed., Special Education Specialist (AGC), Region 7 ESC Stacy Akin, LSSP, Evaluation Specialist, Region 7 ESC
Ms. Burnett is the AGC specialist with Region 7 Education Service Center in Kilgore, Texas, and a certified diagnostician. Her specialties are in the areas of Access to General Curriculum, Differentiated Instruction, Co-Teaching, Inclusion, Accommodations, and State Assessment for Students with Disabilities. Sonya's passion is in helping educators implement inclusion programs that benefit all students in every classroom.
Stacy Akin has 23 years of experience in school psychology, assessment, and evaluation for special education eligibility. Stacy diagnosticians and LSSPs maintain high quality standards in their profession that ultimately assist in successful programming for all students.
First Aid Kit for New Special Education Directors Rosa Zapata, Independent Consultant Oralia Lara, Independent Consultant
Rosa Zapata has been an educator for 35 years. Nine years as principal and 12 years as Special Education Director. She has experience in professional development, parent training and program accountability.
Oralia Lara has been an educator for 31 years. Nine years as a director and 25 years of providing professional development.
Fostering the Continuum of Services within a Least Restrictive Environment Consideration Panel Montie Parker, Director of Special Education for Coppell ISD April Dyke, Diagnostician Intervention Services, Coppell ISD
Mr. Parker is currently Director of Special Education for Coppell ISD. Previously, Montie was the the CISD Director of Secondary Special Education and 504. Montie is a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology. He holds his Master's degree in Supervision from Texas A&M- Commerce. Certifications include a principal certification, and Superintendent Certification.
April Dyke has worked over 17 years in the field of special education as a resource teacher, ARD Facilitator, College instructor for Texas A&M University and most recently as an Educational Diagnostician for the past ten years. April has a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Masters of Education degree in Educational Psychology, both from A&M and is in the process of completing her Doctorate of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a Certification in Administration.
EXCHANGE Sessions – Presenter Bios
Grading Students with Disabilities: "Real" Math or "Creative" Math? Cathy Sartain, Educational Consultant, Cathy Sartain Industries LLC
Ms. Sartain is an educational consultant and has more than 38 years in the field of special education. She provides consultation and training for general and special educators at the state and national level. Ms. Sartain presents on an array of hot topics including training on developing annual goals (academic and functional), writing comprehensive PLAAFP statements, and developing consistent grading practices for students with disabilities.
Helping Parents Feel More Comfortable and Involved in the ARD Process Nancy Nichols Consultant, Educational Diagnostician, LSSP Sharyland Consultants
Dr. Nichols is an educational consultant, educational diagnostician, and licensed specialist in school psychology. She is the author of Response to Intervention: What About Behavior? A Teacher's Guide as well as many educational resource materials. She has worked with special needs and gifted students for over thirty years. She has taught students at all grade levels, including college. Dr. Nichols has authored original research related to reading, confidentiality in schools, academic underachievement, and bilingual issues.
Intensive Speech & Language Services: How to Effectively Serve Students Phuong Lien Palafox, Speech-Language Pathologist, Region 13 ESC Mary Jo Lytton , Speech-Language Pathologist Keith Schneider, Special Education Director, Jarrell ISD
Phuong Lien Palafox is a specialist in Special Education at the Education Service Center Region 13. She has worked as a public school bilingual speech language pathologist, a district lead speech-language pathologist and currently provides support in the field of speech, language and autism for the 60 school districts in Central Texas
Mary Jo Lytton has been in education for 32 years. She has been a general education teacher, special education teacher, diagnostician and speech-language pathologist."
Keith Schneider is currently serving his fourth year as the Director of Special Education for Jarrell ISD. Prior to his current position, Keith served as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology with Round Rock ISD for five years. In addition to being Director of Special Education services, Keith provides supervision to Licensed Specialist in School Psychology interns.
EXCHANGE Sessions – Presenter Bios
Legal and Practical: Using Professional Judgment in Response to Allegations of Disability Based Harassment Under Recent Caselaw Cindy Michaels, SOS: Strategic Out-Source Services Laura O'Leary, Atty. Fanning Harper Martinson Brandt & Kutchin
Cindy Michaels is a former Texas public school administrator with many years of experience, including director of special education in both a shared service arrangement and a single- member district; director of other special service programs; regional education service center consultant; educational diagnostician in a university/medical school setting; and teacher in special education, general education, and at the university level. She has worked extensively with the PBMAS accountability framework to help directors understand the system and respond to required interventions in a meaningful way.
Ms. O’Leary is an attorney with the law firm of Fanning Harper Martinson Brandt and Kutchin in Dallas. She represents school districts in litigation and appeals involving a wide range of issues including special education. Laura has a son with ADHD in public school, and consequently views special education law from the perspectives of both the parent and the provider.
Navigating In-Home Training Successfully and Legally Lynn Young, Executive Director for Special Education, Killeen ISD
Lynn Young has 28 years’ experience in public schools. She has been a speech therapist, a classroom teacher, a campus principal and a Special Education director in a district of approximately 8,000 students and a district of over 42,000 students. She teaches the Special Education Internship classes for Capella University.
Ruling Out Exclusionary Factors In an RTI Model Georgene W. Moon, Educational Diagnostician TX Ed. Diagnostician Assoc., TX Professional Ed. Diagnostician. Association
Ms. Moon has been in the field of Special Education for 38 years as a teacher for students with Behavior Disorders, Learning Disabilities, and other disabilities. She is also an Educational Diagnostician and after leaving Dallas ISD, is now in private practice and consulting. She has also served on local and state boards for Educational Diagnosticians' associations for the last 18 years.
EXCHANGE Sessions – Presenter Bios
Schools, Parents, and Advocates: Working Together Towards a Common Goal Christopher Rigdon, Dir. of Special Education Programs, Katy ISD Dustin Rynders, Supervising Attorney, Disability Rights Texas Joy Siebenman, Parent of two Katy I.S.D. students
Christopher Rigdon is the Director of Special Education Programs for Katy ISD, "a destination district" located on the west side of the Houston metro area. He is responsible for staff development, training, and ensuring a program that is focused on the individual needs of students identified with an eligiblity.
Dustin Rynders is a Supervising Attorney of the Education Team at Disability Rights Texas (formerly known as Advocacy, Inc.), which is a nonprofit law firm and member of the federally authorized Protection and Advocacy (P&A) network. Dustin supervises a team of attorneys and advocates throughout Texas, who represent students with disabilities and their parents in disputes with school districts. In addition to special education advocacy, Dustin has represented students with disabilities in the foster care and juvenile justice systems in a wide variety of cases, and has also worked on public policy issues impacting people with disabilities, serving on statewide committees including the Advisory Committee of the Texas Judicial Commission’s Juvenile Justice Committee.
Joy Siebenman holds Bachelor of Science from University of South Florida in Industrial Engineering and worked for Procter & Gamble for 15 years in manufacturing and logistics management until she retired to raise her children, Sara (age 11) and Ibby (age 8). She has lived in Katy for 8 years. When Ibby, her son, was small, she started a Down Syndrome network in Katy to help parents network with one other. Joy works with parents to help and encourage them to connect with other parents, understand the special education process, and advocate for what their children need. Joy also has a sister with autism and an intellectual disability, and so, has a long history of advocating for people with disabilities. Joy is supportive of her local school by volunteering many hours through the PTA board. Her efforts support teachers so that they can focus on the hard work of educating all children.
The Art of Communication: Effective Tools for Community & District Stakeholder Input Brian Malechuk, Ed.D., Executive Director of Special Education
Mr. Malechuk is the Executive Director of Special Education in Katy ISD. He has been the Executive Director of Special Education in Spring ISD, Director of Leadership and Instructional Support at Region 4 ESC and teaches at the University of St. Thomas and Concordia University as an Adjunct Professor.