K-12 Panel 1: Power of Personalizing Education: Neurodiversity Benefits from Learner Variability and Whole Child Approaches

Click Here to Watch the Webinar Recording - K-12 Panel 1 : Power of Personalizing Education: Neurodiversity Benefits from Learner Variability and Whole Child Approaches

Power of Personalizing Education: Neurodiversity Benefits from Learner Variability and Whole Child Approaches

Moderator: Rachel Schuck, PhD

Objectives:

• Understanding learner variability and why it matters for neurodiverse students.
• Understanding the whole child approach to teaching and learning and why it matters for neurodiverse students?
• Understanding the strong research base of both concepts and how they can be applied to the classroom to benefit neurodiverse students

• Understanding implications for understanding one's own learner variability in a holistic way to elevate voice, agency, and transition smoothly to the adult world of work and community.

   

Barbara Pape EdM, Senior Director, Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise

Barbara Pape is senior director for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise. In this capacity, she led a three-year national survey on learner variability, edtech, and teacher practice; wrote the paper defining learner variability; hosts an edWeb webinar series; co-developed the IEP Project, focusing on strength-based, whole child approaches to writing IEPs. She served as executive producer of the award-winning Teaching & Learning conference, sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Barbara worked on former U.S. Senator Paul Simon’s Senate and Presidential campaign and in the U.S. Senate on the Education and Labor Committee. She also worked in communications for the AFT during President Al Shankar's tenure and headed up government relations for the City Colleges of Chicago. She has written for numerous publications and served as editor and publisher of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, the Daily Report Card. She is a member of the Jacob’s Foundation learner variability working group, on a Children’s Health Council Thought Leadership Advisory Board; previously, served on the Kennedy Center’s Advisory Board on The Intersection of the Arts and Special Education, and Montgomery County’s Public School’s Strategic Planning Committee. She has been a judge for the Milken-Penn GSE Ed Business Plan Competition. Barbara is working on a PhD at the University College London, earned an EdM at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education in reading and literacy, and launched her career as a middle school language arts teacher. She is a first-generation college student.

Tami Hill-Washington, Executive Director, Center for Whole-Child Education at Arizona State University

Tami Hill-Washington is the Executive Director of the Center for Whole-Child Education at Arizona State University. The Center helps educators create learning environments that reflect how young people actually learn and develop. Grounded in the science of learning and development, the Center supports the integration of academic, social, emotional, and cognitive skill-building to promote student well-being and success. It partners with educators, school systems, and nonprofits to translate research into practical strategies and tools for classrooms. Tami leads this work in collaboration with ASU colleagues and partners across the K–12 and higher education landscape. Prior to joining ASU, she spent a decade at Turnaround for Children in New York City, serving on the senior leadership team and advancing whole-child design in Bronx District 10 schools. She also helped build Success Academies and served as an adjunct professor for their teacher licensure program, developed in partnership with Touro College in New York City. Tami began her career as a youth leader at her church before becoming a social studies teacher, and has since served as a school leader, consultant, and systems-change facilitator. Her work centers on creating the conditions for all students to thrive.

Amanda Morin, Director of Academic Services, Compass High School, Co-author Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported

Amanda Morin, CBHS, is a nationally recognized neurodiversity advocate, certified educator, and early childhood and behavioral specialist. A neurodivergent professional herself, she is dedicated to transforming education systems into accessible, inclusive environments where all learners can thrive. Morin is the co-author of Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported (Free Spirit Publishing, 2025), and the award-winning author of five other books on special education, empathy, and life skills, including Adulting Made Easy and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Special Education. She currently serves as Director of Academic Services at Compass High School, an independent school for neurodivergent students in the Bay Area. Her impact on the field grew significantly when she helped launch Understood.org in 2014, now a leading resource for families and educators navigating learning and thinking differences. A trusted voice in the neurodiversity movement, Morin also serves on advisory boards for the Center for Inclusive Learning, Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Project, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media & Youth Mental Health. Through her work, she bridges research and practice to create affirming spaces where neurodivergent people are seen, respected, and supported.

Megan Gross, Program Support Specialist, Supporting Innovative Practices Project, El Dorado County Office of Education

Megan Gross is a Program Support Specialist with the Supporting Innovative Practices (SIP) Project at El Dorado County Office of Education, where she serves local education agencies in the San Diego, Imperial County, and Riverside regions, as they work to advance equitable and inclusive education opportunities in their communities. For nearly twenty years, she has worked in schools across Northern and Southern California, serving students in K-12 grades as an Education Specialist and as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). In 2017, she was recognized as a California Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist, for her work creating an inclusive special education service delivery model for high school students with extensive support needs, who had previously been segregated in K-8 grades. Megan is on the Advisory Board for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise, where she has supported the IEP Project and the Learner Variability Navigator tool. From 2021-2024, she served as a Teacher Commissioner for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Megan is also the co-author of The Inclusion Toolbox: Strategies and Techniques for All Teachers.