From Placement to Rightful Presence: Leading the Conditions for Co-Teaching to Thrive
What happens when we move beyond simply including students with disabilities and begin designing schools where presence, participation, and belonging are the expectation for every student from the start? Grounded in the complementary perspectives and experiences of special education and general education leadership, this interactive session will explore what it takes to move inclusive practices from intention to implementation. Together, we’ll examine how strong leadership partnerships can create the conditions for successful co-teaching, shared ownership, and meaningful participation for all students. Moving beyond the why of inclusion, this session tackles the more challenging question of how. Through real-world dilemmas, collaborative problem-solving, and candid reflection, participants will examine the systems, adult practices, leadership decisions, and assumptions that can either advance inclusive education—or quietly stand in its way. Participants will wrestle with questions that get to the heart of the work: When is co-teaching truly co-teaching? Who owns the success of students with disabilities? What happens when the barrier isn’t the student, but the system? And what can leaders do differently on Monday morning? This won’t be a sit-and-get session. Come prepared to engage, problem-solve, challenge assumptions, and reflect on your own leadership practice. Participants will leave with practical leadership moves, renewed thinking about shared ownership, and a challenge to consider: What needs to change in the systems we lead so that every student has a rightful presence?
Corona-Valley District Field Event Center, 220 W. Puente Street, Covina, CA 91732
Presenters: Cassandra (Cassie) Fanton and Dr. Rachel Heenan
With 31 years of experience in education and entering her eleventh year as an elementary school principal, Cassandra (Cassie) Fanton has dedicated her career to creating school communities where every student is known, valued, challenged, and supported. As an administrator with Long Beach Unified School District, Cassie has worked alongside teachers, support staff, specialists, and families to strengthen instructional practices and ensure students with a wide range of learning needs have meaningful access to highquality teaching and the full school community. Throughout her tenure as a principal, Cassie has led and collaborated with both general and special education teams across a continuum of programs and services, including SUCSESS (ASD), Mild/Moderate (MM), Moderate/Severe (MS), and Collaborative Classroom Teaching (CCT) settings. Her leadership reflects a strong belief that inclusion is not simply a special education initiative, but a shared responsibility that requires intentional partnership between general and special education. She brings practical, school-site experience in building collaborative teams, navigating the complexities of inclusive programming, and creating the conditions in which educators can successfully share responsibility for all learners. Cassie is passionate about fostering a culture of belonging where students with disabilities are not simply present, but are active and valued members of their classrooms and school communities. She remains deeply committed to strengthening educational practices, adult collaboration, and school systems that allow all students to thrive. Dr. Rachel Heenan serves as the State Director of Special Education at the California Department of Education, providing statewide leadership for programs and services supporting more than 860,000 students with disabilities. With extensive experience spanning state, district, SELPA, and charter school leadership, she previously served as Director of Special Education/SELPA for Long Beach Unified School District and as a founding Director of Educational Services for Green Dot Public Schools. Throughout her career, Rachel has focused on building inclusive educational systems, strengthening general and special education partnerships, and improving outcomes for students with disabilities, including leading the development of collaborative co-teaching (CCT) and inclusive service models in her district. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California and brings the perspective of both a practitioner and systems-level leader committed to ensuring students with disabilities are meaningfully included, supported, and valued in their school communities.