Diane Long earned a B.A in English (majoring secondary education) from Rhode Island College and began her career in education as a high school English teacher at an alternative school in Fall River, MA. Many of her students exhibited challenging behaviors both academically and socially/emotionally, and this ignited her passion for working with students with disabilities as well as various trauma experiences. She attended Bridgewater State University to pursue an M Ed. in Special Education and worked for CES under the Special Education in Institutional Settings (SEIS) contract for the last seven years. She began as an Instructional Coach within the Department of Youth Services, County Houses of Correction, and Department of Mental Health supporting teachers and students and has spent the last three years as the SEIS Associate Director of Professional Development and Curriculum supporting all teachers across the state working with our most vulnerable youth. She strongly believes in Albert Einstein's theory that all students "have the ability and potential to learn as long as the right conditions are provided."
