Keynote
Keynote Speaker
Joan Sedita, Founder and Author at Keys to Literacy will present an overview of The Writing Rope model for writing instruction (Sedita, 2019). Many teachers do not recognize that effective writing instruction must address multiple components, represented as strands in a rope in this model. An explanation with references to research findings will be provided for the five strands: 1) Critical Thinking (generating ideas and information, stages of the writing process), 2) Syntax (syntactic awareness, sentence elaboration, punctuation), 3) Text Structure (narrative, informational, opinion; paragraph structure; patterns of organization, 4) Writing Craft (awareness of task, audience, purpose; word choice; literary devices, 5) Transcription (spelling and handwriting fluency). This workshop addresses writing instruction across grades 3-12.
Presentations
Jessica R. Toste
Jessica R. Toste, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds research affiliations with the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk and the Texas Center for Equity Promotion. Her research is focused on methods for intensifying reading intervention for students with persistent reading challenges and reading disabilities. She is principal investigator on research grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Toste is also an award-winning teacher and current President of the Division of Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She is deeply committed to service in support of schools, teachers, and students with disabilities.
Samantha Reeder
Samantha Reeder is on the Google for Education team. Her excitement for accessibility in education stems from growing up alongside her father who is legally blind, and who has benefited greatly from advancements in technology. She is super excited to present at the Central Texas Dyslexia Conference this year!
Katie Sweeney
Katie Sweeney is a part of Google for Education. She has always had a passion for accessibility within education stemming from her father having a Neurodegenerative disease. She has witnessed first hand how technology can change the world for those with disabilities and is thrilled to be a part of the Central Texas Dyslexia Conference.
Amy Cox
Amy Cox is an Academic Support Specialist for the Austin ISD Special Education Department. She earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Texas and master's degree in elementary & special education from Texas State University. For the past 5 years in this role, she has developed professional learning for campus administrators, teachers and paraeducators, as well as provided coaching support to Special Education teachers on campuses in Austin ISD. Prior to that, Amy worked with students with disabilities as a Special Education teacher for over 15 years at the elementary and secondary levels. In her free time, Amy enjoys biking, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her grown-up children and husband.
Lisa Vásquez-Saldaña
Lisa Vásquez-Saldaña is an Academic Support Specialist for the Austin ISD Special Education Department. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin where she is currently on the Advisory Board for the College of Education. Lisa was a Bilingual Resource teacher for 16 years at a Title I school where she served students with high incidence disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. As an Academic Support Specialist, she has helped develop professional learning and provided coaching support to Special Education teachers in Austin ISD. In her free time, Lisa enjoys baking, dancing, and spending time with her husband and four sons.
Dawn Rudolph
Dawn Rudolph is Austin ISD’s District 504 Coordinator and has extensive experience collaborating with schools, families and the community to support the unique learning needs of all students. Dawn has been an advocate for students who face adversity and learning differences for over 25 years and her passion drives her to educate others on the importance of partnerships between schools, families and the educational community.
Dawn brings to life the positive impacts of collaborative decision-making committees through real world examples from her experience as an educator, district administrator, certified mediator and most importantly, as a parent of two children with learning disabilities. She holds a Master’s degree in Education Administration, K-12 Special Education Certification and K-12 Principal as an Instructional Leader Certification. Dawn shares a strong knowledge of behavior and academic evidence-based intervention practices and is passionate about partnering with campuses to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive in an enriching, equitable, and positive learning environment.
NeCol Roager
NeCol Roager has taught in general and special education since 1992 and as an Assistive Technology Specialist for Austin ISD since 2013. NeCol has a master’s degree in Special Education from Chapman University and a bachelor's degree in Child Development from California State University. NeCol collaborates with educational teams to develop and implement assistive technology solutions. Her goal is to help campus educational teams use technology to improve student performance. She also aims to build capacity and to increase knowledge about AT, UDL, MTSS, and accessibility. She and her husband love to explore the Austin area and travel the world.
Shira Goldberg
Shira Goldberg is a Texas native with over 13 years of experience in education. After obtaining her Master’s in Education from the University of Texas at Austin, Shira worked in special education classroom settings and at Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center for the Blind. She began working as an AT Specialist in Austin ISD in 2013 and has enjoyed a wonderful team of colleagues as well as a great amount of progress in the accessibility space in education since then. Shira lives in Austin with her family and spends her free time at her kids’ extracurricular activities!
Carye Edelman
Carye Edelman began her teaching career in 1979 with Austin ISD after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin. She started as a Special Education teacher and continued teaching for 11 years, until being offered the opportunity to work with other Special Education teachers district-wide on understanding and implementing Adaptive Technologies. She has continued as an Assistive Technology Specialist for Austin ISD for 34 years. She has presented locally, regionally and nationally. She is a daughter, sister, mother, step-parent, and GiGi. She is a native Texan currently residing in Austin, Texas. When not working, she loves to spend time with her family, and is an avid baseball fan of the Texas Longhorns and Houston Astros.