PaTTANpod PaTTANpod Team

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023. Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.Sydney Evans and Stephanie Brennan describe their experiences at HELIX and the benefits of collaboration among classroom teachers and special education teachers and practitioners.https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-ConferenceSydney Evans is a first grade teacher at Whitemarsh Elementary School in the Colonial School District. She attended the HELIX conference for the first time with her colleagues, Stephanie, Michaelle, and MT. She found this conference to be meaningful and informative even as a general education teacher due to having the opportunity to teach students with exceptionalities in my classroom setting. Sydney enjoyed having this experience and loved getting to meet new people and share new findings.Stephanie has been a life skills teacher for more than 15 years. She is passionate about helping students achieve their highest level of autonomy and independence through collaboration and creative problem solving. Stephanie has led her district in inclusive practices and community engagement, running a student- staffed restaurant out of her classroom for 10 years. Areas of expertise include child and family advocacy, behavioral support strategies, and interprofessional practice.Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.Michaelle Khatchadourian and Mary Therese (MT) Sabatino share how participating in HELIX supports self-reflection and collaboration.https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-ConferenceMichaelle has been an occupational therapist for 35 years. She owns her own business and has contracted with the district for 11 years providing a variety of related services. Michaelle’s areas of interest includes sensory integration, use of assistive technology to support function, and mentorship. Michaelle loves her job and enjoys learning and collaborating with all disciplines to support the students.MT is a school-based speech, language pathologist who has been practicing in the field for over 15 years. She has special interests in the areas of language and literacy development, assistive technology, advocacy for families of children with disabilities, mentorship, and interprofessional practice. MT is active in the Pennsylvania Speech-Language Hearing Association (PSHA) and co-chair of the schools committee.Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Rebecca Schillack and Kathleen Mease discuss how attending HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities, impacted their efforts to support English language learners with disabilities.Rebecca and Kathleen attended the 2023 HELIX conference as part of a team from Bensalem Township School District through a conference program promoting cross-department and cross-agency collaboration.HELIX conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-ConferenceMiss Schillack is a Special Education teacher at Bensalem Township School District teaching students, within the Life Skills program, Functional Language Arts and Reading Strategies. Miss Schillack has worked as a Special Education Teacher for the Bensalem Township School District for 15+ years. She co-teaches a class with Ms. Mease, the English Foundations' teacher at Bensalem High School. The class includes students that have English language needs in addition to their individual disabilities.Kathleen Mease is an ELD teacher from Bensalem High School. She primarily teaches newcomer English Language Learners, but also co-teaches ELLs who are within the Life Skills program. She works closely with a Life Skills teacher to help these students with reading strategies.Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

To promote cross-department and cross-agency collaboration, HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low-incidence disabilities, provided special opportunities and incentives for teams of attendees in 2023.Shannon McMahon and Lorendana Martinez describe their experiences at HELIX and their ongoing efforts facilitating collaboration among Special Education and English Language Development educators and practitioners to support English language learners with disabilities.HELIX conference: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-ConferenceShannon McMahon is currently a Supervisor of Special Education for Bensalem Township School District. Mrs. McMahon has worked in the field of Special Eduction for over 25 years. This year Mrs. McMahon is working closely with the team at Bensalem High School in focusing on support for English Language Learners who have complex support needs.Loredana Martinez, MS, CCC-SLP is a bilingual speech-language pathologist for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit .She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Pennsylvania state licensure in Speech-Language Pathology, and Teacher of Speech and Language Impaired certification in Pennsylvania. Loredana has 32 years experience working in brain injury rehabilitation, acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term care, and school-based settings. She has been a member of the BCIU’s Multilingual Learner team since 2007.Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net

Missy Garber and Kathleen Lopez discuss how HELIX, the annual conference celebrating high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities, enhances ongoing collaboration among educators and practitioners involved in professional mentoring.https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/HELIX-ConferenceMissy Garber, Ph.D. is an itinerant teacher of students with visual impairments with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown. She was formerly the Director of the Teacher of the Visually Impaired Preparation Program and Co-Director of the National Center for Leadership in Visual Impairment at Salus University where she currently serves on the Blindness and Low Vision Studies Advisory Board. She also serves on the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Education of Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired (PACES-BVI). Dr. Garber has published several peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters and presented at regional and national conferences. In addition to PA certification as a TVI, Dr. Garber is a Utah-endorsed teacher of the deaf-blind. She is also the parent of a young adult who is blind.Kathleen’s educational credentials include: a Master’s Degree in Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and a Dual Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Education for Special and Elementary Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Also, she is a Certified Reading Specialist (K-12), Certified Elementary Educator (K-6), and Certified Special Educator of Visually Impaired (Birth-age 21).Visit our website at http://www.pattan.net