Audience

SPED Teachers, Team Chairs, Administrators, Counselors

Presenter Name(s)

Presenters from Exceptional Lives

Presenter Bio(s)

Marisa Howard-Karp, MS, Chief Operating Officer, Exceptional Lives

Marisa Howard-Karp has spent her career focused on improving access to health care and education, including 15+ years providing professional development training to educators and social workers. As a parent and caregiver to four children with disabilities, she has been part of more than 40 IEP meetings (and counting) and has more experience than she wishes she needed navigating complex services and systems. She loves the work of making these systems easier for other families. She’s a non-profit lifer and a Georgia native who has made her home in the Boston area.

Julie McKinney, MS, Director of Training / Health Literacy Specialist, Exceptional Lives

Julie McKinney has over 25 years of experience in health literacy, plain language, and adult education. She has deep expertise in writing information so it’s easy to understand, and has developed trainings for educators in clear communication. At Exceptional Lives, she ensures that our content is clear and friendly. She also works to strengthen relationships with community partners, and designs trainings that help them connect with families.

Julie also has experience parenting kids with ADHD, learning disabilities and significant intellectual disability. She has ushered her own children through schooling and transition to adulthood, and is committed to helping make this process easier for others. Her core view is that good relationships are the key to just about anything we hope for.

Description

In this session, we will explore how strong family-school communication can make a big difference in Special Education. We’ll look at how better family engagement can lead to improved student success, a more positive school environment, and a smoother, more collaborative special education process. Participants will learn practical strategies to improve how they connect and communicate with families, with the goal of building trust and working as a team.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain how good communication and family engagement can lead to better student outcomes, fewer complaints, and greater staff satisfaction in special education.
• Describe 3 family-friendly strategies to build trust, improve communication, and support active family engagement.
• Name and use 3 ways to make school information easier for families to understand, especially during the IEP process.
• Find helpful tools and resources to help special education learn about the process and work with you in support of their child

Synchronous / Asynchronous

Synchronous

Location

Live via Zoom

Dates & Times

Wednesday, August 13 2025;  10am – 12pm

PDPs

2 PDPs

Credit

n/a

Cost

$150 ACCEPT members/$180 non-members

Registration Deadline

July 30, 2025