Question 1

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 | Behavior Strategies with Greg Benner, Ph.D.

Accepted Answer

Practical Emotional and Behavioral Strategies for the Classroom

Want way less burnout, stress, frustration, and exhaustion this school year? How about more youth engagement and positive behavior in the classroom? Get ready to create the classroom environment you have always wanted. In this session, practical, battle tested, and easy to use behavior strategies for the classroom will be shared. You will be able to put power struggles in the rearview mirror and teach with joy and confidence, as you have always wanted to do. You will also learn how to differentiate behavioral supports to meet student needs. At the conclusion of the session, you will be able to: 1) Build youth social and emotional strengths; 2) boost educator wellness; 3) deepen youth engagement, voice, and leadership; 4) Create a positive and engaging classroom environment.

 

Dr. Gregory J. Benner is the Helen and Pat O’Sullivan Professor in the College of Education at the University of Alabama. He has a knack for grassroots collective impact—getting whole communities including families, child welfare, mental health, and schools on the same page to meet needs of the whole child. In February 2018, he received the Presidents’ Award from the Northwest Positive Behavioral Supports Network for his leadership of school improvement. He is co-founder of the Tacoma Whole Child Initiative, a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable school and community transformation.

Question 2

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 | Law Review with Heather R. Pierson

Accepted Answer

<Year in Review>

Dive into the pivotal legal changes, updates, and regulations that have shaped our field over the past year. We'll cover changes impacting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to noteworthy case law developments. This concise overview is tailored for special education professionals and school/district administrator, providing a brief understanding of the evolving legal framework impacting our school. Join us to stay informed about the latest legal trends and their implications for students, parents, educators, and institutions.

Heather R. Pierson joined Udall Shumway PLC in 2009. She is a member of the School Law section, representing the firm’s education law clients throughout the State. Prior to joining Udall Shumway, Ms. Pierson taught students with behavior disorders. Ms. Pierson primarily focuses her practice on special education and disability related matters. She routinely defends school districts and other public educational institutions in matters related to disability law matters, such as special education due process hearings, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) complaints, Section 504 due process hearings, mediation, and special education state complaints.

Question 3

Thursday, February 16, 2023 |Building Resilience with Dr. Ben Springer

Accepted Answer

Dr. Ben Springer-Director of the Family Education Center in Wasatch County School District 



Ben Springer is an award-winning and Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Ben is also the author of the popular book, "Happy Kids Don't Punch You in the Face" and has just released a new book for parents called, "GPS: Good Parenting Strategies: The No-Guilt Survival Guide for Parents During the Pandemic and Beyond" from Corwin Press. 

Ben received his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Utah in Educational Psychology. Ben has worked professionally as a teacher, autism specialist, school psychologist, and director of special education. Currently, Ben works as the director of the Family Education Center in Wasatch County School District and manages Totem PD, a professional learning company focusing on practical, ready-to-use tools for educators

Question 4

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 | Agenda

Accepted Answer

Download Schedule

Question 5

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 | AGENDA

Accepted Answer

Download Schedule

Question 6

Thursday, February 16, 2023 | Agenda

Accepted Answer

2/16/23 THURSDAY 2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE 1:45-7:00 pm MST            
		
	
	
		
			1:45-2:00
			 PRE-RECORDED LOOP & INTRO OPENS EACH DAY    
		
		
			2:00-3:15
			STRAND
			
			
			
			TOPIC
			
			
			
			SESSION TITLE
			SESSION  PRESENTER
		
		
			 
			Support
			
			
			
			Staff Support/ Retention
			Building a Culture and Community of Caring
			Steve King
		
		
			 
			Support
			
			
			
			Staff Support/ Retention
			Burn the Churn: Retention Support for Life-Long Special Education Teachers
			
			
			
			Kimberly Rice, MEd
		
		
			 
			HLP
			
			
			
			Interventions
			
			
			
			Differential Reinforcement: Learn, Practice, and Apply Right Now!
			Lianne McGinley, M.Ed
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			HLP
			Service Delivery
			Using Peer Tutors to Increase Student Engagement & Achievement
			Jennifer Perry
		
		
			 
			 
			 
			 
			 
		
		
			3:15-3:30
			BREAK
			
			
			
			BREAK
			SHOW 2022 AWARD PRESENTATIONS  IN A LOOP
			SOCIO
		
		
			 
			 
			 
			 
			 
		
		
			3:30-3:45
			AWARDS
			2023 AWARDS
			NEW!! 2023 AWARD PRESENTATIONS
			Trish Alley
		
		
			3:45-5:00
			
			
			
			Keynote Speaker
			
			
			
			Keynote Speaker
			
			
			
			Optimism, Resilience, and You
			
			
			
			Ben Springer
		
		
			 
			 
			 
			 
			 
		
		
			5:00-5:15
			
			
			
			BREAK
			
			
			
			BREAK
			
			
			
			NEW!! 2023 AWARD PRESENTATIONS IN A LOOP
			
			
			
			SOCIO
		
		
			 
			 
			 
			 
			 
		
		
			5:15-6:30
			
			
			
			STRAND
			
			
			
			TOPIC
			
			
			
			SESSION TITLE
			
			
			
			SESSION PRESENTER
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			Keynote
			
			
			
			Staff Support/ Retention
			
			
			
			Title TBA
			
			
			
			Ben Springer
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			HLP
			
			
			
			Interventions
			
			
			
			Supporting Students with Executive Function Challenges
			
			
			
			Samantha DePalo, M.Ed.
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			Support
			
			
			
			Staff Support/ Retention
			
			
			
			Paraprofessionals: What Makes Them Stay and What Makes Them Leave?
			
			
			
			Kassandra Spurlock, M. Ed.
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			Support
			
			
			
			Staff Support/ Retention
			
			
			
			Taking a Closer Look: IEP Facilitation Through a Trauma-Responsive Lens
			
			
			
			Lauren Blocher
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			HLP
			
			
			
			Interventions
			
			
			
			Super HLP: Your Classroom Management Origin Story
			
			
			
			Will Butler, Ed.D
		
		
			 
			
			
			
			HLP
			
			
			
			Service Delivery
			
			
			
			Implementation of hand under hand instruction: effect on student performance
			
			
			
			Katie Armstrong
		
		
			6:30-7:15
			
			
			
			Meeting
			
			
			
			All AZCEC Members Welcome
			
			
			
			Annual General Meeting – Annual Reports, Nominations for Board Positions
			
			
			
			AZCEC, AZCASE, AZCCBD

Question 7

2022 Exhibitor Application

Accepted Answer

Question 8

I Can Do it Award Sponsor

Accepted Answer

Question 9

Conference Exhibitors

Accepted Answer

Question 10

2022 Exhibitor Application

Accepted Answer

For over 30 years, AZCEC/AZCASE has provided a wonderful opportunity to exhibit your business, services and support for special education students, teachers, principals and administrators in Arizona. Our conference attracts almost 500 educational decision makers from across the state - help us make an impact in education! Become a 2022 Conference Sponsor and Exhibitor today before opportunities are gone!

 

2022 Sponsor/Exhibitor Packages

 

2022 Exhibitor Registration

 

Email Jessica for more information

Question 11

Dr. Catherine Creighton Martin & Dr. Clara Hauth (Instruction Strand)

Accepted Answer

Title: Charting Your Course with the Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers.

			 

			
			
			Description: In this session, participants will learn how to use the Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers for case management and instruction. New teachers will understand strategies and resources for collaborating with families and other professionals to develop and implement IEPs with high leverage and evidence-based practices. Administrators will learn how to use the Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers to support novice teachers' case management and practice.

			 

			
			
			Bio: Dr. Catherine Creighton Martin, a Training & Technical Assistance Coordinator (TTAC) coordinator at George Mason University (GMU), specializes in High Leverage Practices (HLPs), Inclusion, and Mathematics. She is co-author of The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers. In her role at TTAC, Catherine collaborates with school division leaders to identify professional learning goals and capacity building structures. Catherine designs self-paced, virtual, and in-person professional learning sessions to meet division goals to implement high-leverage, evidence-based practices, and specially designed instruction (SDI). For 10 years, Catherine taught master’s and undergraduate students an adjunct professor at GMU and Marymount University, working extensively with both pre-service and novice teachers. Previously, Catherine taught mathematics for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for 9 years, served on the MTSS committee, and as special education testing administrator.  While studying for her master’s and Ph.D., Catherine worked with Dr. Margo Mastropieri and Tom Scruggs on an Institutes for Education Sciences Self-Regulated Strategies Development (SRSD) + POW TREE writing grant as interventionist and researcher. Passionate about serving students with disabilities, Catherine is a parent of an adult child with an autism spectrum disorder and participated in the Virginia Board of Persons with Disabilities Partners in Policymaking Program.

			 

			 

			

			Bio: Dr. Clara Hauth is the Program Director for the EdD program at Marymount. Her academic experience includes teaching both graduate and undergraduate online instruction at Marymount, George Mason University and James Madison University. Prior to her work at Marymount, she spent 5 years in the broadcasting industry, training and leading teams in program content, and 10 years as a secondary special education teacher and chair leading teacher training. She serves as a liaison with state and national programs supporting students with disabilities and is an active member of AERA, ASCD, CEC, and divisions CCBD, CLD, DISES and TED. She serves on the DISES board, collaborating with global educational organizations. Dr. Hauth’s transformational leadership in preparing teachers and administrators for careers in the critical field of special education is noted through her co-authored book The Survival Guide for New Special Education Teachers. Her research agenda includes interventions in schools, teacher and school leadership, and global education.  She is the current Program Director for the EdD in Educational Leadership and Organizational Innovation.

Question 12

Heather Pierson with Udall Shumway J.D.  (Legal Strand)

Accepted Answer

Heather Pierson, J.D. - Ms. Pierson comes to Udall Shumway PLC uniquely qualified in the area of education law. Prior to joining Udall  Shumway, Ms. Pierson taught behavior disordered students. During her teaching career, Ms. Pierson was involved in the development and implementation of Individualized Education Plans (“IEP”) and behavior plans and attended several trainings on special education and regular education interventions and strategies. While in law school, Ms. Pierson provided in-home ABA services for autistic children under the age of three and participated in the Whittier Law School Special Education Clinic, which provided special education advocacy services for children with developmental disabilities. Additionally, Ms. Pierson earned her Master’s Degree in Special  Education in 2004.  Ms. Pierson primarily focuses her School Law practice on special education and disability related matters. She routinely defends school districts and other public educational institutions in matters related to disability law matters, such as special education due process hearings, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) complaints, Section 504  due process hearings, mediation, and special education state complaints. She provides daily advice and assistance in matters related to special education, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, student discipline, personnel issues and student records. Ms. Pierson taught Contemporary Developments in Special  Education Law through Northern Arizona University during the Spring of 2014. She has also given in-service workshops to district personnel on a wide range of special education and disability related topics and speaks at state-wide conferences.

Question 13

Mike Paget, M.Ed. (Behavior/Mental Health Strand)

Accepted Answer

Title: Burdens and Barriers to Thriving: Mental Health Challenges to Academic, Behavioral, and Social Success

 



Description: Mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, interfere with school success. We will discuss practical ideas for addressing some of the common problems.

 



Bio: Mike Paget, M.Ed., has been a teacher-therapist, director of school mental health programs, and consultant in the SC Department of Education. He provides seminars for schools across the US and Canada. An author, Mike serves as secretary on the MSLBD.org Board of Directors. His content is K-12 and appropriate for general and special ed teachers, counselors, administrators, and other support staff. His content focuses on practical strategies and accommodations for responding to a variety of mental health challenges. His topics have included anxiety, acting in disorders, acting out disorders, and trauma and resilience. Since 2000, Mike has given multiple presentations at national conferences, over 450 seminars in cities across the US and Canada, and 70 seminars for individual schools and districts.  Mike is the co-author of Confronting Anxiety: 96 Insights and Strategies for Helping Students Manage Their THINKING and FEELING Powers; Defying the Defiance: 155 Insights, Strategies, Lessons, and Activities for Helping Students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, 2nd edition; High On The Spectrum: Asperger’s, High Functioning Autism, and Related Personalities; and Lost and Found: Rescuing our Kids from Video, Screen, Technology, and Gaming Addictions.

Question 14

Tessa Brock (Keynote Speaker)

Accepted Answer

Relate to Elevate: The Power of Connection in Exceptional Education Description: In exceptional education, connection isn’t a soft skill — it’s a survival skill. Every breakthrough begins with trust. Every behavior is communication. And every student’s success is shaped by the relationships around them. In this energizing keynote, Tessa Brock blends humor, honesty, and heart with practical insights from brain science, trauma-informed practices, and her own decades of experience walking alongside educators. Together, we’ll explore what it really means to “reach new heights” — not through hustle and exhaustion, but through alignment, relational safety, and the power of we. Attendees will walk away feeling seen, strengthened, and reconnected to the purpose behind their practice, with practical strategies to elevate students, teams, and themselves. Let’s reach new heights… together! Bio: Tessa is a passionate, engaging and inspiring presenter who tackles the tough topics of Organizational Culture, Trauma Responsive Approaches, Communication, Reflective Practice, and Self-Care with a balance of expertise, honesty, and humor. Tessa has worked with schools through Fortune 500 organizations to enhance interpersonal interactions. Through her genuine and authentic manner, Tessa skillfully uses story to drive home key concepts that make a lasting impression. Tessa has a Master’s degree, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), is Infant/Toddler Mental Health Endorsed Level III (IMH-E III), and is a Certified Executive Coach. Tessa actively coaches, trains, and consults with organizations and schools to enhance relationship-based and trauma-responsive skills and strategies used with professionals, students, and parents. The Neurosequential Network acknowledges that Tessa has completed NMT Training Certification through the Phase I level. She is an international speaker and national consultant. Video

SCHEDULE
8:00 – 8:30 AM	Registration & Networking (In-Person) / *Virtual Lobby Opens (Online) In-person: Coffee, light breakfast, networking tables Virtual: Chat rooms open, welcome playlist playing
8:30 – 8:45 AM	Welcome & Opening Remarks MC: Jay Johnson – Event Host Overview of day & housekeeping notes for both audiences
8:45 – 10:00 AM	Keynote Address Speaker: Tessa Brock Topic: Relate to Elevate: The Power of Connection in Exceptional Education Delivered live on stage, streamed in real-time to virtual participants
10:00 – 10:15 AM	BREAK In-person: Refreshments & exhibitor booths Virtual: Digital networking lounge open
10:15 – 11:15 AM	Breakout Session 1 1. Breakout 2. Breakout 3. Breakout 4. Breakout 5. Breakout 6. Breakout
11:30 – 11:45 AM	Break In-person: Coffee & snacks Virtual: Chat networking
11:45 – 12:45 PM	Special Education Resource Roundup! Panelists: Vendors/Sponsors 2 minutes to highlight support Moderator: TBA
12:45 – 1:30 PM	LUNCH
1:30 – 2:30 PM	Breakout Session Round 2 (Choose, flip from virtual to in person) 1. Breakout 2. Breakout 3. Breakout 4. Breakout 5. Breakout 6. Breakout
2:30 – 2:45 PM	BREAK In-person: Drinks & snacks Virtual: Chat networking
2:45 – 3:45 PM	Panel Discussion (In Person and Virtual) Panelists: (Possible Panelists: Education Forward, Center for the Future of Arizona, ADE, School Connect, AZCEC) Moderator: TBA Topic: Reaching New Heights Together
3:45 – 4:15 PM	Closing Session & Conference (Wrap-Up Recap of Key Takeaways) Prize drawings for in-person & virtual participants Thank-you acknowledgements and next steps
4:30 - 5:30 PM	Annual General Meeting Open to all current Arizona CEC members Annual reports from AZCEC, AZCASE, AZDEBH, AZDEC, and AZ State and Student Chapters.	AGM Zoom

REGISTRATION
Early Bird Rates - end January 31, 2026 $ 99 EARLY BIRD CEC Member $119 EARLY BIRD Non-CEC Member $ 99 EARLY BIRD Team of Three (each member or non-member) Registration - begin February 1, 2026 $119 CEC Member $139 Non-CEC Member $119 Team of Three (each member or non-member)	Register Now!
$50 Virtual Rate for AZCEC Student Chapter Members ONLY, get code from your student chapter advisor.	Student Advisor
Paying by Purchase Order? AZCEC has moved! Please download and submit our new W9 Form for your PO! New Mailing Address: 2320 E Baseline Rd, Suite 148- 224 Phoenix, AZ, 85042 United States	New AZCEC W9 Form

EXHIBITORS & VENDORS
AZCEC and AZCASE are proud to offer limited sponsorships and exhibitor tables at our in-person Annual State Conference on March 27, 2026 from 8am-4pm. Our theme this year is, “Reaching New Heights Together”. For over 30 years, AZCEC and AZCASE have provided a wonderful opportunity to exhibit your business, services and support for special education students, teachers, principals and administrators in Arizona. Last year, we hosted over 400 attendees at our annual (virtual) conference, and we anticipate a great response to our In-Person and Virtual conference this year. As always, we sincerely appreciate your support of our organizations, participants and student awardees! If you have questions or would like to promote your organization, please contact Carrie Brandon, our Exhibitor Host. Email Carrie	Exhibitor Package
2025 Annual State Conference Sponsors
Sonday System https://www.imaginelearning.com/	Keynote Speaker Sponsor
Learn Academy https://www.thelearnacademy.com	Speaker Sponsor
Goalbook https://goalbookapp.com	Speaker Sponsor
Kids First https://kidsfirst.llc	Breakfast Sponsor
Touchmath https://touchmath.com	Lunch Sponsor
KOI Education https://www.koi-education.com	I Can Do It Award Sponsor
E-IEPpro http://www.e-ieppro.com	Snack Sponsor
Proximity Learning https://www.proxlearn.com	Exhibitor
SEAS Exhibitor https://www.seaseducation.com

Welcome!

Our theme this year is Reaching New Heights Together

Breakfast, lunch, onsite exhibitors, and our award presentation available for in-person attendees.

Our 2026 CALL for PAPERS is now OPEN!

Our 2026 AWARD NOMINATIONS are OPEN!

Keynote Speaker