Dr. Eddie Fergus

Applied Researcher at Temple University

Dr. Eddie Fergus is an applied researcher at Temple University. His work explores the effects of educational policy and practice as it intersects the lives of populations living in vulnerable conditions. More specifically, his policy work extrapolates the relationship between discipline codes of conduct, gifted program practice, and academic referral processes and the educational outcomes of low-income and racial/ethnic minority student populations. This work also outlines policy and practice changes in order for schools to develop as protective environments for vulnerable populations. Dr. Fergus consults on these policy and practice changes with state departments of education (e.g., California and Texas) and the U.S. Department of Justice on disproportionality. Additionally, his publications include basic research on educational outcomes of populations in vulnerable conditions, and data workbooks focused on monitoring policy and practice changes.

Dr. David Bateman

Professor at Shippensburg University

David F. Bateman, Ph.D., is a professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education where he teaches courses on special education law, assessment, and facilitating inclusion. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for over 580 hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities and to prevent and to recover from due process hearings. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments. Dr. Bateman earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Kansas. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Special Education Law Case Studies, Special Education Leadership: Building Effective Programming in Schools, Developing Educational Meaningful and Legally Sound IEPs, and Current Trends and Issues in Special Education. He was also recently co-editor of a special issue of TEACHING Exceptional Children focusing on legally proficient IEPs. He is one of the co-founders of the Journal of Disability Law and Policy in Education (JDLPE). He is also co-editor of the new Special Education Law and Policy Series for Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

Since 2020 he has been involved in 85 due process hearings and leads the Pennsylvania Department of Education monthly presentations on working with students with disabilities in virtual environments. He also works with multiple state education agencies on system-wide change, including supervising a class-action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Education as the neutral fact-finder, and rewriting SEA procedures for charter schools for the Guam Department of Education.

Judy Elliott, Ph.D.

Former Chief Academic Officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District and Consultant at EduLead, LLC

Judy Elliott is the former Chief Academic Officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District where she was responsible for curriculum and instruction from early childhood through adult, professional development, innovation, accountability, assessment, afterschool programs, state and federal programs, health and human services, magnet programs language acquisition for both English and Standard English learners, parent outreach, and intervention programs for all students.

Before that she was the Chief of Teaching and Learning in the Portland Oregon Public Schools and prior to that an Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services in the Long Beach Unified School District in CA. Judy also worked as a Senior Researcher at the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota.

She started her career as a special education classroom teacher and then school psychologist. During this time she was an adjunct Professor at the State University College at Buffalo New York where she taught graduate courses in curriculum and instruction and applied behavior analysis in the Department of Exceptional Education.

In 2012, she was appointed by Commissioner John King as the first ever New York State “Distinguished Educator” to help support and oversee the Buffalo City School District Priority Schools.

Judy continues to assist districts, cooperatives, schools, national organizations, state and federal departments of education in their efforts to update and realign systems and infrastructures around curriculum, instruction, assessment, data use, leadership and accountability that includes all students and renders a return on investment.

Her research interests focus on systems change and leadership, equitable and accessible effective instruction for all students, data based decision making, and accelerated student achievement.

She has trained thousands of staff, teachers, and administrators in the U.S. and abroad in areas of integrated service delivery systems, multi-tiered system of supports, effective use of data, linking assessment to district and classroom instruction and intervention, strategies and tactics for effective instruction, curriculum adaptation, collaborative teaching and behavior management.

She has published over 51 articles, book chapters, technical/research reports and books. She sits on editorial boards for professional journals and is active in many professional organizations.

Judy is nationally known for her work in Multi-Tiered System of Supports/Response to Instruction and Intervention. She has led many successful projects in this area and actively continues to support school districts and national organizations in this work.

John Worthington, Esq.

Former State Director of Special Education, State of New Jersey and Consultant Attorney for LEGAL ONE

John Worthington is a consultant for LEGAL ONE (Law, Ethics, and Governance for All Leaders, including an Overview of New and Emerging issues) at NJPSA/FEA. John recently retired as Director of the Office of Special Education Policy and Procedure in the New Jersey Department of Education, where he was responsible, under federal statute and regulations, to operate a system of general supervision and monitor the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 in New Jersey. As director of OSEPP, John oversaw the operation of multiple systems, including: Monitoring; Dispute Resolution; Complaint Investigation; Distribution and oversight of the IDEA Part B Grant; Oversight of Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities; Development of Policy, Guidance, and Administrative Code; and Special Education Data collection and analysis.

David Meyers

Founder, TeachersConnect

For the past decade, Dave has focused his professional energies on making sure that beginning teachers get the skill, confidence, and joy they need to become GREAT teachers. Prior to that, Dave began his career teaching elementary and middle school for 11 years, during which he served as a union leader, got licensed to be a principal, and helped start up a non-profit dedicated to making sure that every child in the country has a teacher who is confident and skilled in the instruction of writing. After leaving the classroom in 2002, Dave led a series of teams to create products and learning experiences that give teachers the tools and techniques to get all students engaged with even the most complex academic tasks—work that has brought him into hundreds of classrooms throughout the country. Over the course of his leadership at The Writers Express (President), a non-profit start-up, and Amplify (where he was Executive Director of ELA Implementation), Dave was a leader in the design, writing, and commercialization of 51 books of grade 3–10 ELA writing curriculum and the eventual transformation of that curriculum into a tablet-based digital reading and writing curriculum for middle schoolers. Today, Dave leads PCG’s efforts to rebuild the teacher pipeline, eliminating the large and inequitable gaps that hinder recruitment, induction, retention, and teacher success. He’s working to make sure every teacher gets a dream job and every student gets a dream teacher.