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 6 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.
Mackenzie Harris
Mackenzie Harris
Nick DeGrazia
Nick DeGrazia is a student services supervisor and school psychologist for Northmont Schools. This year he took on the additional role of student services supervisor and has embraced it. We have worked with Nick over the years and appreciate his active involvement with referral classes and students. Nick is invested in getting to know his staff and students. Nick is also a great support to our team by asking insightful questions and offering support in helping the classroom teams implement ACT team recommendations. The students and staff in Northmont are lucky to have Nick as a leader!
America Swartzel
America Swartzel is the speech pathologist at Dixie Elementary and Middle School in New Lebanon. She is always so positive and knows how to engage with her students. We have seen America connect with some of the most challenging students and facilitate meaningful use of AAC, encouraging implementation across settings. We also love that she educates herself on the perspectives of neurodiverse individuals to make sure her goals and strategies are respectful of their unique differences and abilities. America is a great team player and demonstrates the ability to collaborate with others to support shared goals. We are excited to have America on our A-LIST!
Katie Wood
When coaching in intervention specialist Katie Wood's classroom at Primary Village South in Centerville, we have loved her calming environment, use of the structured work system, how her classroom team facilitates the use of AAC, their use of visual supports such as student schedules and the reinforcement system, use of technology to engage students, and her ability to manage and delegate to your paraprofessionals. Katie has truly embraced the coaching process and shows strengths with mindful reflection, remaining open-minded, collaborative problem-solving, and has done a nice job of implementing strategies with fidelity. We know Katie will be a valued member of our A-LIST and have actually already been visiting her classroom with other teachers since we know there are some great examples for them to see!
Todd French
Heidi Horner
Miami County ESC Intervention Specialist Heidi Horner at Nevin Coppock Elementary in Tipp City has been nominated to our A-LIST because when you visit her classroom you immediately see so many evidence-based practices in place! Throughout her coaching experience with the ACT Team, Heidi has always been willing to listen to constructive feedback and take new ideas and make them her own. On top of all of that, what we admire most about Heidi is her positive attitude and ability to collaborate with her classroom staff and the families she serves. She always has her students at heart and will not stop until she meets their needs. Heidi is always actively problem-solving and we have also been impressed with her initiative to support students in an individualized way, ensuring that she and her staff are meeting their needs. Heidi's leadership style and approach to teaching should be celebrated and deserves to be recognized! Congratulations, Heidi!
