Diverse Learners Cooperative

As a Program Specialist at the Diverse Learners Cooperative (DLC), I support school teams across Nashville in building inclusive, high-impact learning environments for students with disabilities and other historically marginalized learners. My work centers on embedding continuous improvement into daily instructional practice—especially through co-planning and collaborative teaching models that drive better access to core instruction. I lead DLC’s regional implementation of the IGNITE Network, a multi-state NIC (Networked Improvement Community) focused on improving outcomes for priority populations through sustainable co-planning practices. In this role, I coach special education and general education teachers across 12 schools to design, test, and refine instructional strategies using improvement tools such as storyboards, lab notebooks, and PDSA cycles. Our team supports partners in gathering and reflecting on practical measures aligned to equity-focused change ideas—ranging from small group instruction and data reflection protocols to differentiated planning and barrier-removal strategies. In Year 1 of IGNITE, I facilitated three action periods across the school year, led quarterly Learning Consolidation sessions with regional partners, and developed teacher-friendly improvement tools that integrate seamlessly into weekly planning. This year, I’m co-leading our Year 2 network design, including differentiated supports for returning and new school teams, and developing launch session content to help site teams build readiness to lead improvement work at scale. My improvement expertise lies in inclusive instructional design, co-teaching, and adaptive coaching. I draw on over a decade of experience as a special educator, case manager, and teacher leader in diverse school settings—from high schools to K–8 inclusion models. I’m particularly passionate about improving the use of practical measurement tools to help educators see the impact of small shifts in instruction over time, and about coaching structures that make improvement work teacher-owned and classroom-embedded. Beyond school-based coaching, I also contribute to field-building work through facilitator development, network strategy, and improvement tool design. I mentor fellows in DLC’s Teacher Leader Fellowship and support onboarding for new improvement coaches across the IGNITE Network. Most recently, I collaborated with colleagues to analyze regional end-of-year impact data and co-author programmatic materials spotlighting teacher and student growth across partner schools. Improvement work, for me, is both a technical and relational endeavor. It requires strong systems thinking, but also deep belief in the power of educators—and students—as problem solvers. I’m excited to be part of the ISN community and look forward to learning from the field as we collectively push for more equitable and effective learning systems.