How many conversations have you heard the following: “Teachers are like saints; only people with a calling would do this type of work”? Having been an educator for over 45 years, references like this have been heard countless times. And at the same time, we may often read about how teachers are the cause of our society manifesting a slippery slope downward. It’s either a “sai...

Often, conversations between myself and parents may sound as follows:

PARENT: “Why does the special education process make it so difficult?”

ADVOCATE: “The guidelines and the laws are fairly simple and well established; it’s more of the human condition that gets in the way”.

What do I mean when I say this? Whether we are addressing 504 Plans or t...

Sometimes within the context of school and learning, the focus leans heavily into conversations about “meeting standards”, “grade level achievement”, and “progress monitoring”; all within the context of DOING. But then, as I attend meetings everyday, it’s the deeper understanding of the person, the student, the BEING side of the ledger that really strikes a chord. For example...

No matter how one looks at education, the never-ending – always ever present needs of students today push into the following more so than ever before: RELATIONSHIP – REGULATION – RELEVANCE. SImply stated, classrooms must be founded upon these three pilars of support; think of this like a three-legged stool.

RELATIONSHIP: Whether a student’s profile features Autism, ...

ALE, or better known as the Alternative Learning Experience program in WA State may be exactly what you are looking for. Here’s how OSPI (The Office of Public Instruction) describes it: “The Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) is public education where some or all of the instruction is delivered outside of a regular classroom schedule. It is available to all public school d...