Bright Spots in Education

Jeremiah interviews a live panel of charter leaders at the 2025 Charter SELPA Leadership Academy in Sacramento California. New Charter SELPA program coordinator Grace Ridgeway shares her favorite SELPA sped resources, and panelists give insight into challenges, solutions, and successes from the 2024-2025 school year. Show Notes: El Dorado Charter SELPA Special Education Procedural Guide 2025-2026 Annual Special Education Playbook Charter SELPA Staffing Shortages and Credentialing Resources padlet To access guidance documents, professional learning opportunities and other El Dorado Charter SELPA resources, visit www.charterselpa.org More about our panelists:Kerry Hinsche is a special education leader at iLEAD Exploration, an independent study charter school program celebrating the passions and interests of students through personalized learning. The independent study model supports learners with unique needs with an innovative educational approach.Tim DruryX - @TheTimDrury and @Chrysalis_CSFacebook: Chrysalis Charter SchoolLinkedIn - Tim DruryInstagram: chrysalischarter#chrysalis

Jeremiah records live at the annual Charter SELPA Leadership Academy in Long Beach, CA. In the Charter SELPA’s first collaboration episode with Pathways to Partnership, Jeremiah sits down with Aubrie Fulk and the P2P crew to learn more about their organization and how they support school leaders, parents, and IEP team members with proactive conflict resolution. Next, he interviews a panel of leadership academy attendees on initiatives at their school, how they support each other in their school communities, and developing stakeholder relationships. Pathways To Partnership: Aubrie Fulk, Director of Student, Family, & District Support Alternative Dispute Resolution & Prevention, Tehama County Department of Education https://pathways2partnership.org/ California Family Empowerment Center contact map LEA Administrator Panel: Cynthia Austin, Director of Special Education, New West Charter School https://www.newwestcharter.org/ Lizzie Downes, Special Education Program Administrator, https://greendot.org/ Tania Gómez- (She/Her/Ella)- Special Education Program Administrator Green Dot Public Schools, California tania.gomez@greendot.org Shalene Wright, Ed.D., Director of Student Services, Environmental Charter Schools https://ecsonline.org/ Mrs. Ashlee Patel, Westlake Charter School, Coordinator of Special Education www.westlakecharter.com

For Episode 7, Moises and Jeremiah sit down with Diana Pastora Carson, the keynote speaker for the upcoming El Dorado Charter SELPA "A Time to Thrive" Symposium in Sacramento on Friday, January 27th, 2023. Diana speaks on the topic of inclusion and provides practical tips on how listeners can serve as allies for individuals with disabilities in their fight for equal rights and access. Diana also shares important inclusion resources and provides tips on how listeners can shift from inspiration to action for individuals with disabilities in their fight for equal rights and access.To register for the SELPA’s in-person A Time to Thrive Symposium in Sacramento on 1/27/22, visit the link below: https://edcoe.force.com/edcoeevents/s/lt-event?id=a4Q3l000000OCSiEAO To learn more about Diana’s work, please visit the following links: https://www.dianapastoracarson.com/ TED Talk Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruXB3lbiD3U (Podcast) Beyond Awareness: Disability Awareness that Mattershttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-awareness-disability-awareness-that-matters/id1599152885 Additional ResourcesAuthor Paula Kluth (many titles) Disability Visibility by Alice Wong Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-SamarasinhaBlack Disabled Art History by Leroy Moore The Pretty One by Keah Brown Being Heumann by Judy Heumann Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (documentary film) Phoenix Rising (documentary film series) Think Inclusive with Tim Villegas (podcast)

In this week’s episode recorded live at the Charter SELPA “Embrace What’s Possible” Symposium in Sacramento, we interview our keynote speakers including musician and inspirational speaker Sparsh Shah, youth advocate and educator Donovan Hall, and leadership coach Mickey Porter on the topics they shared at the conference. In addition, we hear from administrators from the Charter SELPA schools at the Language Academy of Sacramento and iLead schools, on current best practices in their programs, and how they are leveraging lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve student outcomes in the field. Enjoy the episode! Resources: To access Donovan Taylor Hall’s content, visit https://donovantaylorhall.com or follow on social media, @donofriend on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok. For more information on leadership and coaching with Mickey Porter, visit plusoneleadership.com. To access Sparsh Shah’s music and learn more about his story, visit https://sparshshah.com. To learn more about the Language Academy of Sacramento, visit www.LASAC.info. For more information about iLead student services and supports, visit https://ileadstudentsupport.org/

Jeremiah and Moises speak with a live panel of school leaders from across the state about the significance of building a school community, educator self-care, leveraging technology, and navigating the new normal of COVID-19 related challenges and student achievement. As a bonus, you will hear personal stories recorded from attendees at the El Dorado Charter SELPA Leadership Academy, held in July 2021 in San Diego, California. Enjoy the show!

To learn more about the Bright Spots podcast and El Dorado Charter SELPA, visit the website at charterselpa.org. To access resources for ELs and students with disabilities from Imperial County SELPA and the grant-based EL resources referenced in the episode, visit https://www.icoe.org/selpa/el-swd For more information about San Diego Global Vision Academy, visit SDGVA.org California Practitioner’s Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities (CDE) San Diego Area Writing Project: Provides year-round professional learning in all content areas with a focus on writing, equity, and teachers teaching teachers. Project GLAD: "evidence-based practices that help design classrooms and lessons where language comes alive through content." SDSU CGI Collaborative: "The goal for students is to develop rich informal mathematical thinking and innate problem-solving abilities. Teachers learn how mathematical thinking develops and how to guide children toward deeper, more sophisticated levels of understanding." Imagine Learning: "Imagine Language & Literacy is an adaptive learning solution that accelerates reading and language proficiency for students in grades PreK–6. Designed to supplement core literacy instruction, Imagine Language & Literacy provides instruction and practice in all four domains of literacy—reading, writing, listening, and speaking."