Audience

K – 12 Music Teachers and Special Education Teachers

Presenter Name(s)

Jen Kass, Music Therapist, (MA, MT-BC) 

Jessica Corwin, Director, Medley Music Access & Inclusion

Presenter Bio(s)

Jessica Corwin, Director of Medley Music Access & Inclusion, has been a proud Massachusetts public school teacher since 2005, and has taught in rural, suburban and urban districts across the Commonwealth. She holds degrees in Music Education from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Boston Conservatory, Kodaly certification from Hartt School of Music, and a Graduate Certificate in Music Education and Autism from Berklee College of Music. Outside of classroom work, she also contributes to systemic public education change through her efforts as Sunderland School Committee Chair, Frontier Regional School Committee Clerk, and other political roles. The quality of her work in education has been recognized by awards from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

Jen Kass (MA, MT-BC) has been a board certified music therapist since 2001. She holds degrees from Clark University and Lesley University and serves as the Music Therapy Liaison for the Community Music School of Springfield (Massachusetts). She is also an active visual artist.

Description

This five-hour course is for in-service general music teachers who are looking for philosophy, language, tools, and activities to support their work with students with disabilities including autism. Music Therapist Jen Kass (MA, MT-BC) and Adaptive Music Program Director Jessica Corwin of the Medley Music will give participants tools to bring to their classrooms for accommodation, meaningful inclusion, joyful music-making, and social connection. Topics will include anti-ableist language, neurodivergence-affirming practices, current research on autism, learning differences and corresponding teaching strategies, and the imperative of listening to neurodivergent voices. Participants will engage in a variety of sample classroom activities that can be replicated in their own classrooms.

This course is a pre-requisite for the Adaptive Music Extension Independent Study. Participants who partake in this course will have opportunities to register for the additional extension course which will provide a total of (15) PDPs or (1) optional credit.  The Independent Study will be available between 9/21 – 11/2/26.

Medley Music Access & Inclusion specializes in the true access and inclusion of disabled students with high support needs in school-based music classrooms. We welcome all learners into the essential human experience of creating and loving music with others through providing professional development, adaptive music instruction and teacher resources.

Synchronous / Asynchronous

Live, Synchronous

Location

ACCEPT Collaborative, 4 Tech Circle, Natick, MA

Dates & Times

Thursday, August 13, 2026;  9:00am – 3:00pm

PDPs

6

Credits

One optional graduate credit may be available for an additional fee  to those who enroll in the Extension

Cost

$225 ACCEPT members / $270 non-members

Registration Deadline

July 31, 2026