At Specially-Designed Education Services (SDES) we LOVE highlighting amazing current and former Special Education Administrators along with our amazing Special Education Teachers!
In this episode of the Fast 15, meet Dr. DeShanna Reed, a distinguished TEDx speaker, author, and seasoned educator specializing in special education and student behavior management. Dr. Reed shares her remarkable journey from behavioral health research to education, driven by a passion for social-emotional learning, accessibility, equity, and inclusion. Drawing from personal experiences, including her sibling's influence, she emphasizes the importance of valuing differently-abled students and leveraging educators' classroom insights for effective leadership. Discover Dr. Reed's dedication to equipping families and creating equitable and inclusive educational environments. Join us as we delve into the transformative story of Dr. Reed and her impactful advocacy in the field of education.
In this episode of the Fast 15, meet Dr. DeShanna Reed, a distinguished TEDx speaker, author, and seasoned educator specializing in special education and student behavior management. Dr. Reed shares her remarkable journey from behavioral health research to education, driven by a passion for social-emotional learning, accessibility, equity, and inclusion. Drawing from personal experiences, including her sibling's influence, she emphasizes the importance of valuing differently-abled students and leveraging educators' classroom insights for effective leadership. Discover Dr. Reed's dedication to equipping families and creating equitable and inclusive educational environments. Join us as we delve into the transformative story of Dr. Reed and her impactful advocacy in the field of education.
Barbara Beck is the host of the FAST 15 Podcast. She is a highly dedicated Disability Advocate and Special Education Consultant specializing in IEP Transition Services. Barbara has an extensive background as a special education teacher spanning nearly 30 years. She has dedicated her career to empowering transition-age youth and fostering positive post-school outcomes.
Barbara's expertise lies in providing comprehensive support and guidance to students with disabilities, ensuring their successful transition from school to adult life. She possesses a deep understanding of secondary services and possesses the skills to develop tailored strategies that maximize individual potential.
For more information and resources on special education school-to-adulthood transition planning and independent living, visit www.mykeyplans.com. Join us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and discussions about special education, inclusion, and disability advocacy. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and use #IEPLaunchpadPodcast to join the conversation. Thank you for tuning in to the IEP Launchpad Podcast! 🎧🎙️#IDD #teaching #specialed #specialneeds #InclusionMatters #DisabilityAdvocacy #EmpowerVoices #edtech, #education #edtech, #teachers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey listeners, in this episode of the Fast 15, we
get a chance to discover moreabout Dr Deshanna Reed, who is a
two-time TEDx speaker, anauthor of multiple books and
publications and an experiencedresearcher.
She's an educator and a formerschool administrator with two
decades of expertise in bothelementary and secondary levels,
(00:21):
in special education andspecifically in student behavior
management.
Dr Reed's expertise ineducational and behavioral
health research focuses onsocial-emotional learning,
accessibility, equity andinclusion.
Join us in welcoming her to theFast 15.
Dr Deshanna Reed, it's such aprivilege to have you here on
(00:45):
the Fast 15 today and listenjust about your story and where
you have come from in yourcareer, and we just really want
to find out a little bit moreabout you personally, just what
story has brought you to whereyou're at, and then also just
professionally, what are youdoing in your corner of the
world?
You're out in Texas, I'm inEaston, houston, texas, and so
(01:11):
would you do that for us?
Would you just start out andshare a little bit about your
story so our listeners can learnabout you?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I'm again it's without overwhelm with our time.
As my story on the professionalside, I actually entered
education almost by accident.
What I mean by that is, at thetime I entered education I was
actually serving as a behavioralhealth research assistant at MV
Anderson Cancer Center.
My background is in psychology,with focus on psycho
(01:44):
neuroendocrinology.
It's a really long one.
It has a lot to do with thebrain, its function and how
certain elements of thatimpacted the endocrine system.
I was doing some really greatcommunity-based research, which
was fabulous actually.
But the challenge is doing thatwhen you have one in pre-K and
(02:06):
one in fifth grade was not tocontinuing, and so I knew I was
going to have to walk away fromthat job, even though it was
very much on the trajectory ofwhat I believed my dream job was
at the time.
But it more important for me tobe able to be a mom and be
present for them.
And so third or fourth timethat I was late picking up my
(02:26):
daughter from pre-K, theprincipal met me at the door and
asked me if there was anythingthat she could do to help, and
then also asked me if I had everconsidered entering education.
And at first I was like, okay,wait, look, I was just late.
Right, like that career change,can we just pump Right but hold
up Right?
Just just right, I was a littlelate.
(02:48):
That means I need to be acomplete career change.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
But I know.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I can't explain to you why I'm asking this.
I just feel led to ask you.
Okay, oh, like a coincidencekind of person.
So there's a reason why.
And I said well, you know, Isaid if I be a teacher and I got
a student like me, I wouldprobably quit.
So I don't know if I'm going toget a job.
(03:12):
Oh, son, you might surpriseyourself, maybe that's something
you should consider.
I mean, if nothing else, if I'mwrong, you do it for a little
while and maybe you decide youwant to move on to something
else, but it will give you theopportunity to still make an
impact and it'll also give youthe opportunity to not be late.
I'm really quick of yourchallenge, great, so much.
(03:33):
I've read it all the way back tothat.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
What a strategy.
That's a strategy.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And so I took her up on it and surprised to know that
you needed more than just adegree to be a teacher.
I didn't go to school foreducation so I didn't realize
what it was.
It was a pair of Okay, it was apay cut, but I learned a lot
and ultimately it really wasn'tall that different than what my
(04:03):
regular life was.
I elected to start withresource students and then
requested to work with lifeskills because I knew how lead
was and also that reallymirrored what my personal life
was.
I'm the youngest of four.
I have a differently abledsibling, and so while I was
young and I was at home, I hadthe opportunity to be part of
(04:25):
her everyday life.
She has level three autism, sothere are certain elements that
she requires assistance with andguidance and somewhat oversight
.
She can do a lot of things.
Sometimes it's funny, she justlikes to do things for her, but
she knows how to do things, notonly verbal.
So I understood, and so for me,when I entered the classroom in
(04:48):
that way, I really was justconsidering the type of teacher
my sister needed when she wasvery young, powerful.
I mean, she's 17 years olderthan I am, and so you got her
diagnosis in the late 1960s, andback then it was virtually
(05:10):
unheard of to have differentlyable students at school with
their same age peers thatweren't differently able.
It was generally frowned upon,and so my mom had to do a great
deal of teaching her at home andmanaging that with other
children that were notdifferently able, and so I
(05:33):
remembered the stories of theearly days with them and what it
was like and how they wishedthey had had teachers, the care
that really wanted to nurtureand develop her and just saw for
not just what were herperceived limitations and really
genuinely tried to formcommunity with them and help
(05:55):
them to understand some of thethings that were going on
educationally or otherwise, justreally trying to navigate those
paths.
And so I wanted to be the kindof teacher that she needed.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yes, yes, we're going to take just a quick bit of a
pause to give a shout out to oursponsors S D E, s, and then
we'll get right back to ourconversation.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Functional academics by S D E S is collaborative work
with educators and families,just like you, provides an
in-depth understanding of yourneeds in the community we serve.
You've asked, we listen, it'scoming.
Stay tuned with more to come atS D E S workscom.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And you know, one of the things that I'm picking up
from you just in our shortconversations at this point is
that seeing the strengths insomebody right, not seeing their
limitations I'm making thiscomparison between you and the
principal, seeing your latenessand being mad at you.
But no, the principal sees somestrength in you as a potential
(06:59):
educator Right, but I just, Ijust see that as so powerful it
doesn't matter who we'reapproaching, whether they're
differently abled or typicallydeveloping seeing strengths in
people and pulling that outright.
(07:19):
So powerful, and that's wherewe need to be.
That's the type of educator Iwant to be as well.
So tell me a little bit moreabout that.
How, from your time in theclassroom now you're talking
about that how did your personalexperiences and then now your
professional?
Where was the crossover forthat in what you're doing now
(07:40):
with advocacy just coachingpeople up and in all of all of
the advocacy and the siblingcomponent as well?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, for me, it was kind of a nap progression to get
to where I am now and, to behonest, I feel like I probably
was always doing it, okay, justthe structure of it was
different.
And so, moving on past thoseearly years, I ended up spending
, I would say, 12ish years inand out of the classroom at
(08:12):
varying grade levels andultimately, for me, at every
stage, in every position I wasin whether I was a special
educational teacher, resourcelifestyles, the preschool
program for children withdisabilities, if I was in a
general education classroom,whether it was elementary or
secondary, and then I eventuallybecame a campus administrator,
it didn't matter.
Every place that I was, I keptthe mindset of what would my
(08:37):
sister need at this time in herlife?
What would have been best sofor her?
What do these other peoplearound need to know in order to
make a meaningful impact in away that is accessible,
equitable and inclusive for thisparticular student?
I kept that in the forefront ofmy mind and I kept thinking
about what my parents told me,about how important it was and
(08:59):
how the times had changed, butso many mentalities hadn't, and
so my role in that that I keptwith me was I understand that
there's been some movement, butit seems to be a very, very
small movement of this needle.
So what can I do to make thismove faster?
Who can I help educate aboutthe importance of seeing
(09:25):
students as they are andconsidering the fact that this
could very well be your child oryour sibling, and what would
you want done for them?
And if whatever you're doingisn't moving and operating
authentically in a way that youwould see acceptable for someone
in your family, don't do it tothese children either.
If you be left in the dark,don't leave parents in the dark
(09:48):
either.
Absolutely yes, just keepingthat mentality and being point
for me where I decided tofinally step out of this room.
I was a high school transitionsteacher.
I was in my doctoral studies.
I decided to go back into theclassroom.
I left my campus administrationjob because actually being a
campus administrator duringCOVID was a nightmare.
(10:11):
I got kids I love it, but I lovewhat it was doing to others on
my campus and I can tell youthis when you have an
ineffective leader at the helmof the campus and there's only
one person that is actuallypushing forward to make
(10:31):
meaningful change, it becomesoverwhelming for that person.
Right, really believe, when Iwas that person it took me
really to, but it was thatexperience.
And then when I was the highschool transitions teacher, I
was sitting in a meeting withother transitions teachers for a
(10:53):
larger school district in thegreater Houston area and one of
the central officeadministrators overseeing
special education said directquote in a room full of
transition teachers.
Mind you, it doesn't reallymatter what the family's worn
anyway.
We have more seats at the tableand it's not like they
understand, so we're alwaysgoing to be the person that we
(11:14):
want, so they can disagree ifthey choose, but we're always
going to get what we want.
And that hit me like a ton ofbreak, and I realized that, if
she felt so emboldened to saythat out loud in a room full of
teachers who are servingdifferently abled adults,
(11:34):
helping to transition them intoadulthood, yes, how many more
people think that, right, thatjust wasn't acceptable for me.
Nope.
And so I decided then okay,now's the time, all those
previous times that I had heardyou should do this, you should
do all of this.
(11:55):
It's time.
It was time in that moment, andI started with the mentality of
leveling the playing field,because I felt that families
deserve to know and that wecouldn't, as educators or school
leaders, complain about thedivide between families and
schools if we're the onesperpetuating it.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Right and we can't move forward, like you're saying
, that small change, the changethat has to be made has to be
done, from my perspective, inrelationships and from
partnering together, fromcollaborative efforts and for
valuing voices, right, right, sonow that you've come out of the
(12:39):
classroom or out of the schoolsetting and I want to know more
about your consulting, your TEDtalks and just your experiences
and I know there's a lot there,but just your approach is
currently how did you do that?
How did you maximize yourimpact for families when you
(13:00):
stepped out of that kind of areain the school?
How did we can be protected inthat and really getting your
voice out for positive change?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I started very small, just having meaningful
conversations like this,directly connecting with people
in my community and being superopen and honest about what my
experiences were.
And some of my experiences inthe classroom were great, and I
am immensely grateful foreverything that I experienced,
whether very, very active or notquite.
(13:30):
So I'm really grateful for that, because that gave me
additional pieces that I couldadd to my toolbox like, okay, to
make this not happen, this iswhat should be done, and so when
I coach and I talk withinstructional leaders about
actually leading meaningfulchange in their campuses, I
(13:51):
focus on those elements that Ineeded as a teacher and the
biggest thing for me, even whenI was a campus administrator, I
always said, even out loud toteachers that I coach directly.
I am never going to forget whatit was like to be in the
classroom, because the second Iforget what it's like to be in
the classroom.
I need to hang it up.
(14:12):
Yes, because I can't leadwithout knowing and remembering
constantly what the demands werein the classroom, but it was
that I needed when I was in theclassroom and who I needed my
administrators to be, and Iwanted to be the kind of
administrator that I alwaysneeded and didn't always have,
and so for me, that wasimportant, and when I do coach,
(14:35):
I remind them of that and I havethem really consider what did
you need when you were boots onthe ground in the classroom?
What makes you think that yourteachers don't need that same
thing?
And how are you going to giveit to them?
Right, because it's really coolto give them a tote bag and a
coffee mug, but they're in theirroom for five minutes while
they go and they have theirminor breakdown and then they
(14:57):
come back and we get back in.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Right?
Well, friends, we are tooquickly at the end of this Fast
15 together and I'm reallyloving this conversation with Dr
D'Shauna Reed.
We will pick up theconversation where we just left
off in our next episode, butreal quick, let's remember some
key points together from whatD'Shauna shared with us.
Number one differently abledsiblings can have such a
(15:22):
positive impact on how weexperience and view the world.
Number two keep a mindset forwhat your loved one could need
and want in an equitable andinclusive school environment.
Start with the mentality ofleveling the playing field,
because families deserve to knowand to not be kept in the dark.
Number three don't ever forgetwhat it's like to be in the
(15:45):
trenches in the classroom,because the second you forget
what it's like to be in theclassroom.
You need to hang it up.
If you're like me, you aretouched and inspired by
D'Shauna's story and herperspective.
For the rest of the conversation, be sure to subscribe to the
Fast 15 so that you don't missthe rest of her inspiring story.
It'll come out next week.
(16:06):
For now, champions, keeplistening, stay encouraged and
don't forget to give a high fiveto other inspiring special
educators and keep up the greatwork for your students.
We'll talk to you soon.
A heartfelt thank you to ourgenerous sponsors, specially
designed education services.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program, please take a
(16:27):
moment to learn more about theonly true, comprehensive
Functional Academics Programthat enables students with
moderate to severe disabilitiesto improve their ability to live
independently and showmeaningful growth, both
academically and personally,while creating accountability
with data-driven, evidence-basedresults.
(16:48):
Visit sdesworkscom to learnmore.
Hey listeners, in this episode of the Fast 15, we
get a chance to discover moreabout Dr Deshanna Reed, who is a
two-time TEDx speaker, anauthor of multiple books and
publications and an experiencedresearcher.
She's an educator and a formerschool administrator with two
decades of expertise in bothelementary and secondary levels,
(00:21):
in special education andspecifically in student behavior
management.
Dr Reed's expertise ineducational and behavioral
health research focuses onsocial-emotional learning,
accessibility, equity andinclusion.
Join us in welcoming her to theFast 15.
Dr Deshanna Reed, it's such aprivilege to have you here on
(00:45):
the Fast 15 today and listenjust about your story and where
you have come from in yourcareer, and we just really want
to find out a little bit moreabout you personally, just what
story has brought you to whereyou're at, and then also just
professionally, what are youdoing in your corner of the
world?
You're out in Texas, I'm inEaston, houston, texas, and so
(01:11):
would you do that for us?
Would you just start out andshare a little bit about your
story so our listeners can learnabout you?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I'm again it's without overwhelm with our time.
As my story on the professionalside, I actually entered
education almost by accident.
What I mean by that is, at thetime I entered education I was
actually serving as a behavioralhealth research assistant at MV
Anderson Cancer Center.
My background is in psychology,with focus on psycho
(01:44):
neuroendocrinology.
It's a really long one.
It has a lot to do with thebrain, its function and how
certain elements of thatimpacted the endocrine system.
I was doing some really greatcommunity-based research, which
was fabulous actually.
But the challenge is doing thatwhen you have one in pre-K and
(02:06):
one in fifth grade was not tocontinuing, and so I knew I was
going to have to walk away fromthat job, even though it was
very much on the trajectory ofwhat I believed my dream job was
at the time.
But it more important for me tobe able to be a mom and be
present for them.
And so third or fourth timethat I was late picking up my
(02:26):
daughter from pre-K, theprincipal met me at the door and
asked me if there was anythingthat she could do to help, and
then also asked me if I had everconsidered entering education.
And at first I was like, okay,wait, look, I was just late.
Right, like that career change,can we just pump Right but hold
up Right?
Just just right, I was a littlelate.
(02:48):
That means I need to be acomplete career change.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
But I know.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
I can't explain to you why I'm asking this.
I just feel led to ask you.
Okay, oh, like a coincidencekind of person.
So there's a reason why.
And I said well, you know, Isaid if I be a teacher and I got
a student like me, I wouldprobably quit.
So I don't know if I'm going toget a job.
(03:12):
Oh, son, you might surpriseyourself, maybe that's something
you should consider.
I mean, if nothing else, if I'mwrong, you do it for a little
while and maybe you decide youwant to move on to something
else, but it will give you theopportunity to still make an
impact and it'll also give youthe opportunity to not be late.
I'm really quick of yourchallenge, great, so much.
(03:33):
I've read it all the way back tothat.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
What a strategy.
That's a strategy.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And so I took her up on it and surprised to know that
you needed more than just adegree to be a teacher.
I didn't go to school foreducation so I didn't realize
what it was.
It was a pair of Okay, it was apay cut, but I learned a lot
and ultimately it really wasn'tall that different than what my
(04:03):
regular life was.
I elected to start withresource students and then
requested to work with lifeskills because I knew how lead
was and also that reallymirrored what my personal life
was.
I'm the youngest of four.
I have a differently abledsibling, and so while I was
young and I was at home, I hadthe opportunity to be part of
(04:25):
her everyday life.
She has level three autism, sothere are certain elements that
she requires assistance with andguidance and somewhat oversight
.
She can do a lot of things.
Sometimes it's funny, she justlikes to do things for her, but
she knows how to do things, notonly verbal.
So I understood, and so for me,when I entered the classroom in
(04:48):
that way, I really was justconsidering the type of teacher
my sister needed when she wasvery young, powerful.
I mean, she's 17 years olderthan I am, and so you got her
diagnosis in the late 1960s, andback then it was virtually
(05:10):
unheard of to have differentlyable students at school with
their same age peers thatweren't differently able.
It was generally frowned upon,and so my mom had to do a great
deal of teaching her at home andmanaging that with other
children that were notdifferently able, and so I
(05:33):
remembered the stories of theearly days with them and what it
was like and how they wishedthey had had teachers, the care
that really wanted to nurtureand develop her and just saw for
not just what were herperceived limitations and really
genuinely tried to formcommunity with them and help
(05:55):
them to understand some of thethings that were going on
educationally or otherwise, justreally trying to navigate those
paths.
And so I wanted to be the kindof teacher that she needed.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yes, yes, we're going to take just a quick bit of a
pause to give a shout out to oursponsors S D E, s, and then
we'll get right back to ourconversation.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Functional academics by S D E S is collaborative work
with educators and families,just like you, provides an
in-depth understanding of yourneeds in the community we serve.
You've asked, we listen, it'scoming.
Stay tuned with more to come atS D E S workscom.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And you know, one of the things that I'm picking up
from you just in our shortconversations at this point is
that seeing the strengths insomebody right, not seeing their
limitations I'm making thiscomparison between you and the
principal, seeing your latenessand being mad at you.
But no, the principal sees somestrength in you as a potential
(06:59):
educator Right, but I just, Ijust see that as so powerful it
doesn't matter who we'reapproaching, whether they're
differently abled or typicallydeveloping seeing strengths in
people and pulling that outright.
(07:19):
So powerful, and that's wherewe need to be.
That's the type of educator Iwant to be as well.
So tell me a little bit moreabout that.
How, from your time in theclassroom now you're talking
about that how did your personalexperiences and then now your
professional?
Where was the crossover forthat in what you're doing now
(07:40):
with advocacy just coachingpeople up and in all of all of
the advocacy and the siblingcomponent as well?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, for me, it was kind of a nap progression to get
to where I am now and, to behonest, I feel like I probably
was always doing it, okay, justthe structure of it was
different.
And so, moving on past thoseearly years, I ended up spending
, I would say, 12ish years inand out of the classroom at
(08:12):
varying grade levels andultimately, for me, at every
stage, in every position I wasin whether I was a special
educational teacher, resourcelifestyles, the preschool
program for children withdisabilities, if I was in a
general education classroom,whether it was elementary or
secondary, and then I eventuallybecame a campus administrator,
it didn't matter.
Every place that I was, I keptthe mindset of what would my
(08:37):
sister need at this time in herlife?
What would have been best sofor her?
What do these other peoplearound need to know in order to
make a meaningful impact in away that is accessible,
equitable and inclusive for thisparticular student?
I kept that in the forefront ofmy mind and I kept thinking
about what my parents told me,about how important it was and
(08:59):
how the times had changed, butso many mentalities hadn't, and
so my role in that that I keptwith me was I understand that
there's been some movement, butit seems to be a very, very
small movement of this needle.
So what can I do to make thismove faster?
Who can I help educate aboutthe importance of seeing
(09:25):
students as they are andconsidering the fact that this
could very well be your child oryour sibling, and what would
you want done for them?
And if whatever you're doingisn't moving and operating
authentically in a way that youwould see acceptable for someone
in your family, don't do it tothese children either.
If you be left in the dark,don't leave parents in the dark
(09:48):
either.
Absolutely yes, just keepingthat mentality and being point
for me where I decided tofinally step out of this room.
I was a high school transitionsteacher.
I was in my doctoral studies.
I decided to go back into theclassroom.
I left my campus administrationjob because actually being a
campus administrator duringCOVID was a nightmare.
(10:11):
I got kids I love it, but I lovewhat it was doing to others on
my campus and I can tell youthis when you have an
ineffective leader at the helmof the campus and there's only
one person that is actuallypushing forward to make
(10:31):
meaningful change, it becomesoverwhelming for that person.
Right, really believe, when Iwas that person it took me
really to, but it was thatexperience.
And then when I was the highschool transitions teacher, I
was sitting in a meeting withother transitions teachers for a
(10:53):
larger school district in thegreater Houston area and one of
the central officeadministrators overseeing
special education said directquote in a room full of
transition teachers.
Mind you, it doesn't reallymatter what the family's worn
anyway.
We have more seats at the tableand it's not like they
understand, so we're alwaysgoing to be the person that we
(11:14):
want, so they can disagree ifthey choose, but we're always
going to get what we want.
And that hit me like a ton ofbreak, and I realized that, if
she felt so emboldened to saythat out loud in a room full of
teachers who are servingdifferently abled adults,
(11:34):
helping to transition them intoadulthood, yes, how many more
people think that, right, thatjust wasn't acceptable for me.
Nope.
And so I decided then okay,now's the time, all those
previous times that I had heardyou should do this, you should
do all of this.
(11:55):
It's time.
It was time in that moment, andI started with the mentality of
leveling the playing field,because I felt that families
deserve to know and that wecouldn't, as educators or school
leaders, complain about thedivide between families and
schools if we're the onesperpetuating it.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Right and we can't move forward, like you're saying
, that small change, the changethat has to be made has to be
done, from my perspective, inrelationships and from
partnering together, fromcollaborative efforts and for
valuing voices, right, right, sonow that you've come out of the
(12:39):
classroom or out of the schoolsetting and I want to know more
about your consulting, your TEDtalks and just your experiences
and I know there's a lot there,but just your approach is
currently how did you do that?
How did you maximize yourimpact for families when you
(13:00):
stepped out of that kind of areain the school?
How did we can be protected inthat and really getting your
voice out for positive change?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I started very small, just having meaningful
conversations like this,directly connecting with people
in my community and being superopen and honest about what my
experiences were.
And some of my experiences inthe classroom were great, and I
am immensely grateful foreverything that I experienced,
whether very, very active or notquite.
(13:30):
So I'm really grateful for that, because that gave me
additional pieces that I couldadd to my toolbox like, okay, to
make this not happen, this iswhat should be done, and so when
I coach and I talk withinstructional leaders about
actually leading meaningfulchange in their campuses, I
(13:51):
focus on those elements that Ineeded as a teacher and the
biggest thing for me, even whenI was a campus administrator, I
always said, even out loud toteachers that I coach directly.
I am never going to forget whatit was like to be in the
classroom, because the second Iforget what it's like to be in
the classroom.
I need to hang it up.
(14:12):
Yes, because I can't leadwithout knowing and remembering
constantly what the demands werein the classroom, but it was
that I needed when I was in theclassroom and who I needed my
administrators to be, and Iwanted to be the kind of
administrator that I alwaysneeded and didn't always have,
and so for me, that wasimportant, and when I do coach,
(14:35):
I remind them of that and I havethem really consider what did
you need when you were boots onthe ground in the classroom?
What makes you think that yourteachers don't need that same
thing?
And how are you going to giveit to them?
Right, because it's really coolto give them a tote bag and a
coffee mug, but they're in theirroom for five minutes while
they go and they have theirminor breakdown and then they
(14:57):
come back and we get back in.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Right?
Well, friends, we are tooquickly at the end of this Fast
15 together and I'm reallyloving this conversation with Dr
D'Shauna Reed.
We will pick up theconversation where we just left
off in our next episode, butreal quick, let's remember some
key points together from whatD'Shauna shared with us.
Number one differently abledsiblings can have such a
(15:22):
positive impact on how weexperience and view the world.
Number two keep a mindset forwhat your loved one could need
and want in an equitable andinclusive school environment.
Start with the mentality ofleveling the playing field,
because families deserve to knowand to not be kept in the dark.
Number three don't ever forgetwhat it's like to be in the
(15:45):
trenches in the classroom,because the second you forget
what it's like to be in theclassroom.
You need to hang it up.
If you're like me, you aretouched and inspired by
D'Shauna's story and herperspective.
For the rest of the conversation, be sure to subscribe to the
Fast 15 so that you don't missthe rest of her inspiring story.
It'll come out next week.
(16:06):
For now, champions, keeplistening, stay encouraged and
don't forget to give a high fiveto other inspiring special
educators and keep up the greatwork for your students.
We'll talk to you soon.
A heartfelt thank you to ourgenerous sponsors, specially
designed education services.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program, please take a
(16:27):
moment to learn more about theonly true, comprehensive
Functional Academics Programthat enables students with
moderate to severe disabilitiesto improve their ability to live
independently and showmeaningful growth, both
academically and personally,while creating accountability
with data-driven, evidence-basedresults.
(16:48):
Visit sdesworkscom to learnmore.
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