Saturday Sessions
8:15 AM - 9:25 AM Colorado Spotlight
Elevating Maths: AI Partnerships that Strengthen Student Engagement
Mindy Adair, Ph.D. Director of Mathematics; Technology Integration Specialist
The internet made knowledge accessible. AI challenges learning. In maths, invisible barriers, generally not ability, often hold students back: cognitive overload, gaps in understanding, and low confidence. Discover how AI can help mitigate these barriers, spark curiosity, and empower students to think deeply, connect ideas, and engage meaningfully with mathematics.
Mistakes, Mischief, and Mayhem: Creating a Just and Caring School
Presented by Barbara Coloroso
Discerning the differences between mistakes (unintentional error ) mischief (playful misbehavior), and
mayhem (wanton destruction or the infliction of violent injury), can help educators determine how
to effectively hold students accountable for their actions. Discipline that is just and rooted in deep
caring is the necessary response.
Session Goal:
Educators will be able to:
• discern the difference between discipline, punishment, and rescuing;
•use the simple steps for dealing effectively with mistakes, mischief, and mayhem;
• understand how intent, content, circumstances, and intended and unintended consequences can help educators and students determine if an act is ethical or unethical;
• create a just and caring school community.
Outline of Presentation:
• Discipline, punishment, and rescuing--why one works and the others only appear to work
• Steps for dealing effectively with mistakes, mischief, and mayhem
• The big I and the 3 C's: intent, content, circumstances, and intended and unintended consequences
• Creating a just and caring school community
The Imagine Project: Empowering Student Stories with Hope
Presented by Todd Daubert, M.Ed.
Discover The Imagine Project in this interactive session. Experience the expressive writing framework firsthand to promote empowerment, self-expression, belonging, and well-being. Learn practical strategies to support emotional regulation and resilience for students with diverse needs, integrate narrative healing into your curriculum, and build meaningful, student-centered IEP goals.
Special Education Odyssey: The Long, Wandering, and Eventful Journey
Presented by Dr. Jacque Phillips, Esq. & Jocelyn Aldridge, Special Education Director
A special education director and an attorney walk into a meeting. The odyssey begins. We will discuss 5 themes. Hospitality for IEP meetings, cunning over strength when making boundaries, loyalty and fidelity to implement specially-designed instruction, rejecting temptation to rely on AI, and master strategy when filing complaints. This is an interactive presentation. Audience participation is expected. Presenters will stay after the conclusion to answer individual questions not covered.
10:20 AM - 11:30 AM Breakout Sessions
Utilizing Conflict to Build Trust During the IEP Process
Presented by Katherine Rains, JD
“Conflict and collaboration are two faces of the same coin of community,” The Adaptive School (2009). During this session, IEP meeting participants will be provided with strategies and tools to help them lean into challenging team conversations and turn areas of disagreement into opportunities for learning, collaboration, and team growth.
Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher
Presented by Dorothy Shapland Rodriguez & Rosemarie Allen
Explore the definition of culture and reflect on yourself as a cultural being who can reduce the impacts of cultural disconnects on young children. Discover why culturally responsive teaching practices are important to the health and wellbeing of every child in your care.
Fluency, Not Frustration: World Languages for Diverse Learners
Presented by Suzie Ledford
One approach to world language-learning does not fit all, especially for diverse learners. Explore research-based strategies to shift the focus from “Who can learn a world language?” to “How do we teach it well?” Leave with tools to reduce cognitive load, lower anxiety, and build fluency without lowering expectations.
Attention Is All You Have: The First Verb of Learning
Presented by Philippe Ernewein, MA
Attention is the bedrock of executive functioning. Without the "first verb" of focus, a student’s ability to plan, remember, and regulate remains out of reach. This session treats attention as a teachable resource rather than a fixed trait, providing practical tools to nurture and strengthen each student’s primary gateway to learning.
Risk, Reach, Rise: The Paraprofessional Role
Presented by: Paige Avery & Marina Bullock
Paraprofessionals are more than support staff. This session empowers participants with real strategies for behavior support, communication, and building student relationships. Learn how to take initiative, find your voice and make a meaningful impact in the classroom.
All Learners, All Strengths: Real-Life Inclusive Classrooms
Presented by Natalia Ferreira & Emily Wilson
Inclusion is not just a strategy, it’s a culture. So what does an inclusive classroom actually look/feel/sound like? From the lens of a general education teacher and a special education teacher, presenters will share practical and effective tools to support meaningful inclusion.
Dysregulated Students Don't Care About Token Boards
Presented by Jennifer Harris & Dr. Allison Meyer
Emotionally regulated students learn more and engage better. What looks like disruption may be signs of dysregulation. Through the lens of Down syndrome, discover why regulation matters, how it shapes learning, and practical ways to support all students in the classroom.
Future Focus: Maximizing Transition IEPs
Presented by Lori Y. Peterson & Jennifer M. Sedaghat
Maximize IEPs to prepare students for the requirements of adulthood. This presentation will provide guidelines for maximizing alignment in the IEP by using a postsecondary lens to address student needs. Participants will receive resources to conduct age-appropriate transition assessments and use data and industry standards to align student transition-focused IEPs.
Relationship and Literacy Building through Interactive books
Presented by Amy Green
To create and use interactive literacy activities from things readily available in the home or classroom to build positive relationships with young children to improve both behavior and academic outcomes.
Math Interventions Need a Makeover
Presented by Juliana Tapper
Let’s makeover our math interventions so that kids start to build a new relationship with mathematics! Learn three key levers to transform your class, close gaps, and reduce apathy. Leave with actionable strategies for building effective math interventions that balance foundation fact practice with access to grade level content.
Nurture Nature: Cultivating Character in the Classroom, and Beyond
Presented by Hope Gimbel
Get inspired to get outside! Research shows that interacting with nature can help neurodiverse learners develop essential skills. Amplify the impact of Social-Emotional-Learning activities by bringing the outside in. Leave with actionable tools to foster accountability, empathy, and resilience in students with ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergent profiles.
Parental Incarceration: Trauma Informed Classrooms and Connection Rooms Addressing Child Behavior Outcomes
Presented by Kristiona Vail
This presentation explores the intersection of parental incarceration and childhood trauma. Participants will identify trauma-induced classroom behaviors and learn practical co-regulation tools. By fostering felt safety and secure attachments, educators can transition from punitive discipline to connection-based interventions, supporting the emotional and academic resilience of at-risk students.
11:45 AM - 12:55 PM Breakout Sessions
A Collaborative Approach to IEP Goal Writing
Hannah Mackie, M.A., CCC-SLP & Megan Paben
This session will focus on writing educationally relevant IEP goals shared across providers and settings to support consistency, skill generalization, and team accountability. Participants will learn practical strategies, explore collaborative goal areas, review examples across grades and needs, and gain tools to strengthen effective team collaboration.
How to Organize your SPED Paperwork World
Presented by Alissa Nichols & Analeise Petrisko
This is a great session for people just starting in special education or for people who would like to learn tips and tricks for organizing IEP data, information and caseload management.
Using Pop Culture to Support Multi-exceptional Students
Presented by Doug Alexander
Since pop culture is highly influential in most students’ lives, why not harness it as a way to help twice-/muti-exceptional youth learn about their complex identities and recognize their strengths? Find out the benefits of pop culture, including how neurodiverse students take identity cues from pop culture mentors.
Integrating Trauma-Informed Practices into a MTSS Framework
Stefanie Winfield, Angele Fauchier, & Evelin Gomez
This session explores how trauma-informed practices can be integrated within the COMTSS framework to support student and educator well-being. Participants will examine connections to COMTSS components and through the use of case studies, learn practical strategies for creating safe, inclusive school environments that promote resilience, mental wellness, and schoolwide supports.
Student-Driven Academic Intervention
Presented by Mary Smid, MA, MS
Students experiencing academic challenges often know what they are getting wrong, but they don't know why they continue to get the wrong answers. Instigate a little detective work by interviewing the students and looking at their repeated mistakes to decipher the clues leading to the learning challenge. Seek out the red herrings and work with the student to unmask their mistakes, help them help solve their challenges
Regulation and Education
Presented by Amanda Evans & Dr. Emily Cunningham-Randall
Working with adolescent students can be challenging. Unmet needs, hormonal and body challenges as well as academic needs can impact daily functioning. This session focuses on examining adolescent brain development, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Bloom’s taxonomy to gain insights to support regulation in adolescents and within yourself.
Universal Design to Foster Resilience: Trauma informed Care in the Early Childhood Classroom
Presented by Dr. Nicole Crain-Girten
Nearly one in four preschoolers has been exposed to one or more adverse experiences. This session will focus on tiered interventions (level 1 and 2) that can have lasting effects on children’s social, emotional, and academic achievement and may lay the groundwork for improved resilience throughout the lifespan.
You’re in College... Now What? Bridging the Gap from K–12 to Higher Education
Presented by Amy Mann
This session explores the experiences of neurodivergent students transitioning from K–12 to higher education. Participants will examine gaps between accommodations and classroom realities, including the lack of faculty training and understanding in higher education, and gain practical strategies to create more structured, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for diverse student populations.
Leading the Shift:Reducing Exclusionary Practices While Supporting Staff
Presented by Amanda Gonzales, EdS. & Kristie Robbins, MSW, LCSW
Exclusionary discipline continues to impact student access to learning while educators face increasing behavioral demands. This session explores restorative, relationship-centered approaches that reduce removals while supporting staff. Participants will gain practical strategies that build accountability, strengthen relationships, and promote inclusion.
Co-Teaching by Design: From Structure to Impact
Presented by Rosie Britt, Jeny Garst, & Hannah Meshenuk
True inclusion requires courage at the systems level. Discover how we redesigned scheduling, PLC alignment, collaboration structures, and coaching cycles to move from surface-level co-teaching to shared instructional ownership. Leave with concrete tools and a replicable framework for sustaining rigorous, inclusive practice.
Growth Mindset in Practice: Beyond the Buzzwords
Presented by Tara Butler
Move beyond growth mindset slogans to examine common myths, research-informed realities, and the everyday classroom practices that truly shape student learning. Educators will explore how feedback, expectations, equity, and teacher mindset interact to build cultures where struggle, growth, and learner identity are supported.