Resources

NC State Board of Education, Office of Exceptional Children and Integrated Academic Behavior Systems 

IDEA requires States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to take steps to determine the existence of and address significant disproportionality in special education. 

The purpose of the webinar series on Educational Equity and Significant Disproportionality are designed to inform and guide Public School Units (PSUs) as they seek to eliminate significant disproportionality. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations were created to promote equity in IDEA and ensure that children with and without disabilities are properly identified and receive necessary services, address over and under identification, placement, and discipline with respect to race and ethnicity.

EESD Webinar Schedule

Join the Webinar at the scheduled day and time. The password to join is EESD2023

*All Webinar Sessions are from 3:00 pm-4:30 pm ET*

• March 21, 2024 - Equity and Excellence for ALL - NCDPI Office of Advanced Learning & Gifted Education
• April 25, 2024 - Equitable Access to Dispute Resolution Resources for Families - NCDPI Office of Exceptional Children

EESD Webinar Recordings

Session 1-February 23, 2022: Educational Equity as a Tool Not Just a Conversation: Viewing the Landscape

Presenter: Dr. Edward Fergus

Dr. Edward “Eddie” Fergus is an applied researcher at Temple University. His work explores the effects of educational policy and practice as it intersects the lives of populations living in vulnerable conditions. More specifically, his policy work extrapolates the relationship between discipline codes of conduct, gifted program practice, and academic referral processes and the educational outcomes of low-income and racial/ethnic minority student populations. This work also outlines policy and practice changes in order for schools to develop as protective environments for vulnerable populations.

February 23, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb1)

Session 2-March 24, 2022: Disproportionality: Where are the Special Education Teachers of Color?

Presenter: Dr Cathy Kea

Dr. Cathy Kea is a Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educator Preparation in the College of Education at North Carolina A&T State University. Her teaching and research focus on the development of culturally responsive special education teachers and the retention of SETOC during the induction years.

March 24, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb2)

Session 3-April 28, 2022: Educational Equity: Looking at Problem Behavior Through the Right Lens

Presenter: Dr. Louise Southern and Dr. Eb Roberts

Dr. Louise Southern is an Associate Clinical Director with the Autism Society of North Carolina. Dr. Southern has been privileged to work with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) since 1998. She has extensive experience implementing and overseeing programs that emphasize the integration of evidence-based practices in intervention for children and adolescents with ASD. Areas of focus include equity in education and behavioral intervention, culturally responsive service provision, and scaling up the implementation of evidence-based practices across schools and systems.

Dr. Eb Roberts is the Senior Director of Human Resources & General Counsel with the Autism Society of North Carolina. Dr. Roberts joined the Autism Society of North Carolina in January 2018. Prior to joining ASNC, she spent 20 years in the for-profit sector, working primarily in behavioral health hospital administration, counseling, and engaged in the practice of law. Her roots in autism began in college, working in group homes in the Charleston area and continued after graduate school, counseling teens and young adults with ASD.

April 28, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb3)

Session 4-May 26, 2022: The Pedagogy of Educational Equity: Strategies to Interrupt Unconscious Bias in the Classroom

Presenter: Dr. Tracey A. Benson

Dr. Tracey A. Benson received his doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and his Masters of School Administration from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has co-authored the book Unconscious Racial Bias in Schools: A Developmental Approach to Exploring Race and Racism and has developed a comprehensive training program for district and school leaders that features a high-yield three-pronged approach to addressing issues of racial bias that impede the academic outcomes of students of color. His research focuses on addressing structural and systemic racism in K-12 school systems.

May 26, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb4)

Session 5-August 25, 2022: Asset-Based Training

Presenters: Marta Alcala-Williams & Dr. Samuel Kaplan

Marta Alcalá-Williams is a Latina woman who has lived, worked, and invested in the Asheville community for the last 30 years. She is committed to facilitating deep relationships centered on revolutionary love and collective liberation. Marta’s work in the school system and community is rooted in engaging the community to achieve a clearer understanding and shared analysis of racial equity and to create equitable and just practices. Marta is known for her work with asset and justice-based thinking and practices. In addition to co-founding Marvelous Math Club, Marta started a Motheread group seven years ago which has created an amazingly powerful group of black, brown, and white women who uplift one another and are charting new territory on building true multiracial communities. Marta currently serves as the Executive Director of Equity and Community Engagement for Asheville City Schools. 

Dr. Samuel Kaplan has a life-long commitment to celebrating and popularizing mathematics. In addition to co-founding Marvelous Math Club, he has organized four Math Literacy Summits in Asheville from 2001 to 2008 to highlight community priorities and resources around mathematics. Dr. Kaplan has been recognized for his teaching with a UNC System Board of Governors Award, a UNC Asheville Teaching Excellence Award in the Natural Sciences, and a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southeast Section of the Mathematical Association of America.

August 25, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb5)

Session 6-September 22, 2022: Addressing Disproportionality and Advancing Educational Equity in Post-Pandemic Era

Presenter: Dr. Eddie Fergus

Dr. Edward “Eddie” Fergus is the Professor of Urban Education and Policy at Rutgers University. His work explores the effects of educational policy and practice as it intersects the lives of populations living in vulnerable conditions. More specifically, his policy work extrapolates the relationship between discipline codes of conduct, gifted program practice, and academic referral processes and the educational outcomes of low-income and racial/ethnic minority student populations. Dr. Fergus has worked with over 120 school districts since 2004 on educational equity and school reform, specifically addressing disproportionality in special education and suspension.

September 22, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb6)

Session 7-October 27, 2022: 7 Steps to Developing your School’s Educational Equity Strategic Action Plan/Creating an Educational Equity Definition

Presenter: Dr. Karla Manning

Dr. Karla Manning is an educational equity consultant and City University of NY (CUNY) Lecturer who helps educators and school leaders strengthen their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She has 13+ years of teaching experience, teaching in all grades of K-12, higher education, and international teaching as a volunteer English teacher in South Africa. Dr. Manning hosts The Equity Experience Podcast, an audio space for K-12 educators and school leaders who are dedicated to pursuing equity and inclusion in their schools, districts, and organizations.

October 27, 2022 Recording (Password: EESDWeb7)

Session 8-January 26, 2023: Educationally Equitable IDEA Evaluation and Identification Practices

Presenter: Lynn Makor and Bridgette LeCompte

Lynn Makor is the Consultant for Psychological Services and Coordinator of TBI training within the Office of Exceptional Children. At the state level, Lynn regularly uses workforce data to advocate for and address efforts in improving the pipeline and retention of highly qualified school psychological service providers. Lynn's efforts during the past decade have been targeted on developing both state and district level policies designed to advance equitable evaluation and identification practices for students with special needs. Lynn is also responsible for coordination and maintenance of the North Carolina Registry of Approved Providers for TBI.

Bridgette LeCompte is the Consultant for Occupational Therapy to the NC Department of Public Instruction and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UNC Chapel Hill. Bridgette is passionate about promoting educational equity and occupational justice through the provision of contextual and collaborative services, implementation of OT’s full scope of practice in schools, and OT involvement in MTSS to support the needs of all students and staff.

January 26, 2023 Recording (Password: EESDWeb8)

Session 9-February 23, 2023: Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in Culturally Diverse Classroom

Presenter: Dr. Khalilah O'Farrow-Boulware

Dr. O’Farrow-Boulware is a Consultant with the Office of Exceptional Children and Adjunct Instructor for NC A&T State University. Prior to pursuing her doctorate in special education, she served as a special education teacher. It is Dr. O’Farrow-Boulware's goal to incorporate her background knowledge and experience as an educator and consultant by sharing information and strategies on how educators and administrators can create learning experiences that promote equity, strengthen students’ self-esteem, and encourage respect for all learners.

February 23, 2023 Recording (Password: EESDWeb9)

Session 10 - March 23, 2023: Advancing Educational Equity in Dual Language Programs

Presenter: Dr. Silvia Romero-Johnson

Dr. Romero-Johnson is a K-12 educational leader, administrator, and advocate for multilingual learners. Dr. Romero-Johnson currently serves as the Director of Bilingual Programs and Instructional Equity for the Verona Area School District in Verona, Wisconsin. Her career has been devoted to advancing the needs of bilingual and multilingual learners by leading for systemic improvements in school districts that utilize asset-based approaches.

Session 11 - April 27, 2023: Calling All Educators to Choose Boldness

Presenter: Dr. Amanda Florence Garcia Goodenough

Dr. Amanda Goodenough is the founder and LEO (Lead Executive Officer) of Goodenough Consulting. Dr. Goodenough is a dedicated educator operating from a cultural humility framework to center and elevate historically marginalized voices, promote belongingness and mattering, disrupt structural inequities, and advance intersectional social and racial justice. 

April 27, 2023 Recording (Password: EESDWeb11)

Session 12 - September 29, 2023: Inclusive Spaces & Culturally Sensitive Policies for Indigenous Students

Presenter: Tricia Zunker

Tricia Zunker has served as Associate Justice of the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court since 2013. She has also served as President of the Wausau Board of Education, is founding director of Central Wisconsin Indigenous Peoples’ Day Committee (a 501(c)3 organization), and is a tribal member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. She is a first generation college graduate, earning a B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law. In addition to her work as Ho-Chunk Supreme Court Justice, she is a longtime educator. She teaches concurrently in the Legal Studies department at University of Maryland, in the Criminal Justice department at Colorado State University-Global Campus, and for over 16 years, serves as law professor at California School of Law, where she is also Dean of Faculty. She is a member of the ACLU of Wisconsin Board of Directors and a member of the Midwest Environmental Advocates Board of Directors. Tricia’s lived experiences have instilled in her a passion for public education, social justice, protecting the environment, ensuring fundamental rights and achieving representation reflective of society. She resides in Wausau, Wisconsin with her twelve-year-old son and their rescue pup, Diesel. 

September 29, 2023 Recording (Password: EEsD2023-01)

Session 13 - October 19, 2023: Federal Equity Plan Requirements

Presenters: Dr. Danesha Smith and Dr. Pauletta Thompson

Dr. Damesha A. Smith is a leader, change agent, and visionary who has a heart for teaching, learning and children. She has served in several capacities. She began teaching 8th grade language arts and social studies. She served as literacy coach, mentor for the beginning teachers, assistant principal and Federal Programs Assistant Director, and middle school principal, where she was named 2021-22 Principal of the Year for her district. Dr. Smith also served as a university supervisor and an English professor. Currently, Dr. Smith is a Program Administrator for the Department of Public Instruction and an adjunct professor. Dr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in history education from Winston-Salem State University, Master of School Administration from East Carolina University and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from North Carolina State University. Dr. Smith is also the founder, owner, and operator of Ignite Consulting Firm, LLC. Through Ignite, she provides leadership training, professional development, and professional coaching.

Dr. Pauletta Spence Thompson is an advocate for equity and a champion for school and district leaders. As a Ron Edmonds Scholar, Dr. Thompson has dedicated her professional career to transforming high-needs schools and districts. As a state administrator, she currently supports NC public school units in leveraging federal funding to bolster improvement efforts that will yield equitable student outcomes. Pauletta has also served as a district administrator in rural and urban districts, where she led the Federal Programs, Equity, and Strategic Innovation departments. She has also served as a classroom teacher and school administrator in several urban districts. As an adjunct professor, Dr. Thompson teaches aspiring school leaders to strengthen their leadership acumen. Pauletta received a B.A. in History Education from NC Central University and an M.S.A. and an Ed.D in Educational Administration and Supervision from NC State University.

October 19, 2023 Recording (Password: EESDWeb13)

Session 14 - November 30, 2023: Educationally Equitable Evaluation & Identification Practices (Part 2)

Presenters: Lynn Makor and Bridgette LeCompte

Lynn K. Makor is currently the Consultant for Psychological Services and Coordinator of TBI training within the Office of Exceptional Children. At the state level, Lynn regularly uses workforce data to advocate for and address efforts in improving the pipeline and retention of highly qualified school psychological service providers. Lynn's efforts during the past decade have been targeted on developing both state and district level policies designed to advance equitable evaluation and identification practices for students with special needs. Lynn is also responsible for coordination and maintenance of the North Carolina Registry of Approved Providers for TBI, which consists of approximately 25% of the school psychology workforce who have received specialized training in conducting IDEA evaluations for TBI consideration. 

Bridgette LeCompte is the Consultant for Occupational Therapy to the NC Department of Public Instruction and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UNC Chapel Hill. Bridgette is passionate about promoting equity and occupational justice through the provision of contextual and collaborative services, implementation of OT’s full scope of practice in schools, and OT involvement in MTSS to support the needs of all students and staff.

November 30, 2023 Recording (Password: EESDWeb14)

Session 15 - January 25, 2024: Solidarity and Sustainability for Educators

Presenters: Deepa Iyer and UyenThi Tran Myhre

Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer is Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Building Movement Project, where she leads projects on solidarity and social movements, conducts trainings, uplifts narratives through the Solidarity Is This podcast, and facilitates solidarity strategy for cohorts and networks. Previously, she served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and also held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Over the course of two decades supporting social movements, Deepa has played many roles: weaver, frontline responder, storyteller, and guide. Her political and community homes include Asian American, South Asian, Muslim, and Arab ecosystems where she spent fifteen years in policy advocacy and coalition building in the wake of the September 11th attacks and ensuing backlash.

UyenThi Tran Myhre

UyenThi (pronounced “Wing-T”) Tran Myhre is the Movement Building Coordinator with the Building Movement Project, supporting communications work, curriculum development and trainings, and solidarity cohorts. Prior to joining BMP, UyenThi held leadership roles at the YMCA of the North Equity Innovation Center and the University of Minnesota Women’s Center, where she worked with college students, K-12 and higher education faculty and staff, as well as nonprofit professionals in various sectors. She holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota. UyenThi is interested in storytelling and narrative-shifting as strategies for social change and creating a better world. She is part of the team at Project Yellow Dress, a platform uplifting voices and stories from the Southeast Asian diaspora. As a daughter of refugees, writer, and facilitator, her work explores the intersections of family, feminism, abolition, and beyond, often through a pop culture lens.

January 25, 2024 Recording (Password: EESDWeb15)

Session 16 - February 29, 2024: Understanding the Pursuit of Educational Equity in K12 Education

Presenters: Dr. Kisha Daniels 

Dr. Kisha Daniels

Dr. Daniels has worked extensively in the areas of teaching and learning with children, public school teachers, administrators, and university students for over 25 years. She holds a BA in elementary education, master’s degrees in school counseling and administration, a specialist certification in curriculum and instruction, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a teacher and administrator in large, urban school districts, she has devoted her work to utilizing and researching engaging curriculum that supports diverse learning styles. She currently teaches Service-Learning courses in the Program in Education and the African and African American Studies department, advises undergraduates and is the Program Director of DukeEngage Chicago. Notably, she is actively involved with building and sustaining community partnerships to extend the scholarship of teaching through service learning. This has guided her path to focus on teacher quality, collaborative teaching, and community engagement, to which she is credited with published books, journal articles, a university Teaching Excellence and international research awards. 

February 29, 2024 Recording (Password: EESDWeb16)