A-LIST Induction 2023

We are so excited to end this school year by introducing our newest members of our Autism & Low-Incidence Coaching Team’s “A-LIST”. Our A-LIST stands for Autism-Low Incidence Support Team and is comprised of a regional network of select professionals who exhibit “best practices” in serving the needs of students who have autism or other complex, low-incidence disabilities.Our A-LIST began in 2012 in an effort to recognize outstanding individuals who had exceeded the high expectations of our coaching process, and who represented the best that our region had to offer to students with disabilities. Only a fraction of the educators we coach each year are nominated. The A-LIST truly represents the BEST professionals in our region.

The goal of the MCESC Autism & Low-Incidence Coaching Team is to build the capacity of our region’s administrators, teachers, intervention specialists, related service providers, and paraprofessionals to serve children with autism and other complex disabilities. The A-LIST serves a critical role in that mission by maintaining a multi-disciplinary network of outstanding practitioners across all 5 counties we serve. We often refer our coaching teams to our A-LIST members for practical, “in the trenches” perspectives, advice, and occasional modeling of best practices.




Michelle Hiegel

Michelle Hiegel is a paraprofessional at Miami East Junior High in Miami East. We have had the pleasure of working with Michelle for several years and have been so impressed by her ability to advocate for her students while fostering their personal growth. She is a pro when it comes to finding the delicate balance between holding a student accountable while still accommodating for their needs without enabling. Michelle’s students are so lucky to have her on their team!





Sara Harris

Sara Harris is an intervention specialist at Kettering Middle School in Kettering. We love her ability and desire to build positive relationships with her students. Sara does a great job encouraging self-advocacy by involving her students in the problem-solving and planning process. Sara and one of her students participated in our recent ACT training on Awareness, Advocacy, and Accountability for Middle and High School students. We are excited to have Sara as a member of our A-LIST team!





Rose Jepson

Our team was impressed from the first moment we entered Rose Jepson’s Kindergarten classroom at Northridge Elementary in Northridge! As a general education teacher, Rose truly goes above and beyond to meet the needs of all of her students including creating specialized learning materials, visual tools, and structural supports. She has approached the coaching process with an open-mind and eagerness to learn and grow in her abilities to meet her students’ needs. Continued reflection and learning is a true sign of an excellent educator!





Maggie Brackman

When you walk into Intervention Specialist Maggie Brackman’s classroom at Northwood Elementary in Northmont, you instantly enter a calm, welcoming environment. Dimmed lighting, a variety of adapted seating, and plenty of visual and instructional supports create a wonderful learning environment for students. During our time working with Maggie, she demonstrated her expertise by taking recommendations and running with them! She does a great job collaborating with the ACT team as well as with her team at Northwood. Anyone would be lucky to have Maggie on their team and we are fortunate to now have her as one of the newest members of our A-LIST team!





Sam Maiden

Sam Maiden is a one-on-one paraprofessional at Northwood Elementary in Northwood. Watching Sam’s connection with her student is truly special. She provides support with love and patience. Her warm, supportive approach has been so wonderful for her student this year. Additionally, Sam does a great job of implementing recommended strategies while finding a balance of consistency and flexibility.





Amanda McCormick

Amanda McCormick is an intervention specialist at Driscoll Elementary in Centerville. We love Amanda‘s use of classroom structure, including her use of center rotations to keep all students engaged. She communicates well with her paraprofessional support team to ensure all students participate during whole group instruction. When addressing behavioral challenges, she does a great job tracking behavior patterns and problem-solving to meet student needs. We think Amanda will be a great role model to show evidence-based strategies in action.

Lauren Bridgens

Intervention Specialist Lauren Bridgens from Driscoll Elementary in Centerville was nominated to be on the A-LIST because when you walk into her classroom you will see so many evidence-based practices in place! On top of that, she is the queen of data collection and does a great job of progress monitoring! What we admire most is Lauren's positive attitude and ability to collaborate with staff and the families she serves. She is always actively problem-solving and open to trying new ideas. We have also been impressed with Lauren's initiative to support students in an individualized way, ensuring that she and her staff are meeting their needs. Lauren advocates for her students and ensures they have access to the resources and support they need to succeed in school and beyond. She teaches her students from a variety of curriculums and skills to empower, challenge, and support every learner to grow every day through the use of AAC, sensory supports, life skills, and academics. Lauren's leadership style and approach to teaching should be celebrated and deserves to be recognized!







Laura Windholtz

Speech and Language Pathologist Laura Windholtz from MCESC’s Learning Center-West was nominated to join our A-LIST because as an SLP she sets such a great example of how to proactively embed opportunities for communication within the classroom setting and she does such a wonderful job modeling best practices by "pushing in" therapy sessions into classrooms for some of the students she serves. From a coaching perspective, we always appreciate Laura's input and feedback as well as her attendance at meetings and feedback to email communications. Laura is always actively problem-solving and open to trying new ideas. We have also been impressed with her initiative to support students in an individualized way, ensuring that she and the teams she supports are meeting their needs. Laura's leadership style and approach to communication supports should be celebrated and deserves to be recognized!