CES is committed to meeting and exceeding the needs of its member districts in its products and services. As a part of that charge, effective on July 1, 2016, the agency has brought on board Laurel Peltier and Sharon Jones, two new Curriculum and Instruction Specialists in Special Education, to assist local schools and school districts in the region.
Albert Mussad, the Director of Professional Development at CES commented, “We’ve been hearing from our districts and schools about increasing needs for support in the design of effective programs and delivery of research-based instruction for students with special learning needs. In response, I’m very excited to bring aboard the specialized and widely recognized expertise that Laurel Peltier and Sharon Jones offer. Sharon and Laurel will enable CES to offer to schools and districts special education training for paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and general education teachers with inclusive classroom; as well as support for special education administrators and their programs.”
Both educators bring extensive experience to their new roles.
With an M.Ed. in Special Education from the University of Massachusetts, Sharon Murphy Jones has spent 34 years in public school districts, most recently as an Administrator of Special Education at Pioneer Regional School District. She has worked as both a special education and general education teacher, assistant principal, and inclusion specialist. She has taught courses on inclusion at the University of Massachusetts.
Jones will be providing coaching for teachers of moderately and severely disabled learners, and coaching on co-teaching and inclusion. She will also be teaching open-enrollment workshops on autism and other topics this fall, and will serve as an ESE Inclusive Practices Ambassador, working with individual principals to implement and strengthen inclusive practices in their schools. Jones will be available to provide technical assistance to Special Education programs in program evaluation, CPR assistance, and creating new programs to meet particular learners’ needs.
Dr. Laurel Peltier holds an Ed.D in Special Education Leadership and an M.A. in English, as well as a professional license as a Special Education Administrator in Massachusetts. Peltier has developed and led public and private secondary school programs for students with disabilities, and taught undergraduate and graduate course in special education and writing. She has served as a consultant and professional development provider for more than 20 school districts in MA, most recently at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School. In addition to her professional experience, Peltier brings experience as the parent of a child with autism and intellectual disabilities.
Peltier will be teaching open-enrollment courses for paraprofessionals, along with other open-enrollment courses in differentiated instruction, and the use of MCAS-Alt to measure student growth. She’ll provide coaching for teachers working with moderately and severely disabled learners, and will be available for Special Education program technical assistance with program evaluation, CPR assistance, and assistance in creating new programs.
For more information about Special Education and Professional Development programs at the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES), visit https://www.collaborative.org/services/content-areas/special-education
