SUNDAY, January 20th, 2019
Noon – 4:00pm Conference Registration
11:30am - 12:30pm NAPSEC Board of Directors/NCASES Luncheon
12:30pm – 2:30pm NAPSEC Board of Directors Meeting
1:00pm – 5:00pm Exhibitor Set Up
2:30pm – 4:30pm NCASES Commissioners Meeting
6:00pm – 7:00pm VIP Reception for New Attendees
7:00pm – 8:30pm Welcome Reception
9:00pm - 11:45pm NAPSEC Networking
MONDAY, January 21st, 2019
7:30am - 8:30am Breakfast
7:30am - 2:30pm Conference Registration
8:30am - 10:00am General Session
7 Prescriptions for Executive Leadership Success
Mary Kelly , Ph.D., CSP, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Thousands of leadership programs tell you how to be a great leader. Far fewer delve deeper into the surprisingly common mistakes supervisors, managers and even CEOs unknowingly make that derail team’s effectiveness and productivity. Whether in your first year of management or your 30th, this session will share hidden pitfalls and how to avoid them. The program also outlines specific actions that ensure success. Based on the book of the same title, this content-rich, data-based program is also entertaining and full of actions that participants can use to further develop leadership skills, outcomes and organizational morale.
10:00am - 10:30am Coffee Break
10:30am - 12:00pm Concurrent Sessions
A. The Three R’s: Recruitment, Retention & Relationships
This session will detail the steps that have been taken to recruit new staff, retain existing staff and build relationships with colleges and universities in Arizona and California. Topics discussed will include the importance of collaborating and supporting university faculty with guest lectures and placements for practicum and intern students, the importance of building relationships with the career services faculty, as well as sharing what ACCEL has done to successfully recruit and retain staff.
B. Creating a Safety First Culture
Harry Schaeffer and Tanya Kim-Guild
Education leaders always acknowledge the need to establish and maintain safe environments and safe working conditions for students and staff. However, in reality the challenges of managing day to day operations often result in safety issues being lost in the shuffle or taken for granted. Overlooking safety issues often becomes the status quo, right up until the moment something bad happens. Creating a culture that truly places and keeps safety first requires an organization-wide commitment that must originate and be maintained by leadership. This presentation will include several suggestions for improving overall agency safety practices as well as concrete ideas for improving safety in specific high-risk areas of operations. Personal experiences with safety related incidents will be shared by the presenters. The presentation will also include a brief overview of the FBI’s 26 identified potential school incidents. There will also be first-hand accounts of one or more school’s experiences at review and revision of all safety related policies and practices.
C. The Adult Autism Cliff: Light at the end of the tunnel
Ami Taubenfeld and Carrie Hubbard
Over the next decade 500,000 adults with autism will exit the school system. As families face the crisis about what’s next, there is a solution based program creating a model of hope for others. Learn why this autism-specific program is exceeding the expectations of parents and even their founders, with their mission driven programming.
12:15pm - 1:30pm State of the Association Meeting & Federal Update - box lunch provided
1:30pm - 2:30pm NAPSEC Board of Directors Meeting
1:45pm - 3:00pm General Session
A History of San Antonio
Richard Kriese, San Antonio Detours
3:00pm - 5:00pm NAPSEC Happy Hour & Exhibitor Showcase
9:00pm - 11:45pm NAPSEC Networking
TUESDAY, January 22nd, 2019
7:30am - 8:30am Breakfast
7:30am - 8:15am Breakfast Roundtable - Social Media
Dorian Townsend
7:30am - 12:00pm Conference Registration
8:30am - 10:00am General Session
Board Governance Fundamentals: Not the Theory but BEST PRACTICE
John Littleford
Boards can become caught up in the latest jargon such as “generative” or “policy” governance. While these concepts have merit, there are many examples worldwide of boards that have collapsed for lack of attention to the basic principles of good practice. This session will reinforce the importance of governance fundamentals and will utilize the case study teaching method.
10:00am - 10:30am Coffee Break
10:30am - 12:00pm Concurrent Session
A. John Carver’s Policy Governance Model — Board accountability-based system that supports organizations in meaningful governance
Policy Governance is an operating system for board accountability. Boards that operate with this system provide their organizations with meaningful and outcome-driven governance. Through the structure, the system allows for flexibility as well. Participants will learn: a) the components of policy governance, b) hear about successful organizations that thrive due to the structure, and c) the necessary requirements for implementation.
B. Parents as Entrepreneurs - Creating Employment Opportunities
Julie Tracey and Michael Myers
Despite the requirement that IEPs must include plans for transition, parents are faced with the harsh reality that special education is an entitlement that will end at age 21. Adult services are often inadequately funded and present providers with a myriad of challenges, resulting in long wait lists for young adults with disabilities. Now, the new neurodiversity movement has begun to shed light on the issues facing those aging out of special education. Many parents are taking on the challenge of starting businesses in order to provide meaningful employment opportunities for their adult children with disabilities. On this unique panel, parents will discuss the challenges they have faced and their personal decision to pursue opening their own business.
12:15pm - 2:00pm How to Prepare for NCASES Accreditation - lunch provided
Participants will be provided with an overview of the accreditation process (i.e. origins, philosophy, mission, organizational structure) and a summary of the NCASES process from the time a program applies for accreditation through the completion of the site review and the final report.
12:15pm - 2:00pm NCASES Site Reviewer Training - lunch provided
Help support our mission to promote excellence in special education. This session will train participants to be a NCASES Site Reviewer. Once complete, participant names will be placed on the NCASES Site Reviewer list and you will be notified of opportunities to participate in upcoming site visits for applicant programs across the United States.
11:30am - 5:30pm Rich Robinson Memorial Golf Tournament
5:30pm - 6:30pm NCASES Gathering
Stop by at the end of the day to relax and learn more about NCASES and becoming a site reviewer. We encourage current site reviewers to attend so we can thank you for donating your time and expertise on behalf of NCASES.
9:00pm - 11:45pm NAPSEC Networking
WEDNESDAY, January 23rd, 2019
7:30am - 8:30am Breakfast
7:30am - 8:15am Breakfast Roundtable - Hot Topics in Human Resources
Cheryl Marvin
7:30am - 12:00pm Conference Registration
8:30am - 10:00am General Session
Workplace Stigma toward Employees with Intellectual Disability
Maureen Gormley, RN, MPH, Ph.D.
Though research has shown that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) can function successfully in a broad array of jobs, workplace assimilation remains a challenge as employer and coworker perceptions reportedly stigmatize these prospective employees. Coworker perceptions of employees with ID can stem from attitudes of unfairness of accommodations and misperceptions related to performance, promotion, and retention. This presentation will review a qualitative study addressing how co-worker perceptions of employees with ID, hired in the context of a school-to-work transition program, shift over time. The study has implications for ways in which employers can help change the paradigm for individuals with ID from segregated to integrated employment and, in doing so, add a rich element of diversity to their organizations.
10:00am - 10:30am Coffee Break
10:30am - 12:00pm Concurrent Sessions
A. Entitlement to Eligibility: The Funding Cliff
This diverse panel will offer perspectives from young adults, parents, and service providers entering the world of post-secondary funding for young adults with significant disabilities. Panelists will discuss the struggle to understand and qualify for funding after leaving special education, as well as the many well-intentioned but misguided regulations governing the funding of services. These panelists’ perspectives include highly experienced providers as well as parents and providers just entering the world of entitlement funding.
B. Using School Climate Data to Make Decisions in Special Education Settings
This session will provide an overview on best practices being utilized in public school settings to measure school climate and apply data to decisions regarding positive behavior supports and evidence-based practices across the continuum of student needs. The speaker will present information about why schools should and how they can measure school climate and present an example of a school climate survey collected in Maryland schools, from students, staff, and parents. Participants will work through the gaps in such measures for students with disabilities, and the applicability to special education school settings and brainstorm areas for improvement and consideration in their practice. The speaker will then present examples of utilizing school climate data to select school focal areas and evidence-based practices and highlight best practices for data-based decision making within teams. Participants will then have an opportunity to engage around how this can be applied in their own settings.
C. Hot Button Legal Issues Affecting Private Schools for the Disabled
Private schools for the disabled must function in a highly regulated and litigious environment. Knowledge of the legal framework in which you operate, and evolving trends in the courts, are essential to survival. This session will address an array of timely legal topics including the U.S. Supreme Court’s reformulated standard for “free appropriate public education” in the Endrew F. case, potential applicability of IDEA’s “stay put” provision and other remedies, the latest on legal standards for out-of-district placements for psychiatrically fragile students, your legal obligations to students and parents, and more.
12:15pm - 1:45pm Celebrating NAPSEC Luncheon
During this final event at the conference, we will recognize NAPSEC Awardees and the NCASES programs which were accredited this year. We will also hold the raffle drawing at the conclusion of the luncheon. You don't want to miss this!