Inclusive Education: Building Schools Where Every Student Belongs and Succeeds
Drs. Julie Causton and Kristi Pretti-Frontczak, Inclusive Schooling

Families play a crucial role in making inclusive education a reality. This session is designed to empower you with practical tools, research-backed strategies, and inspiration to ensure your child—and every student—belongs and meets desired outcomes.

We’ll explore what true inclusion is (and isn’t) and why belonging is essential for every child’s academic and social success. You’ll learn five key strategies to advocate for inclusive placements and experiences, including how to:

• Develop and share a clear vision for your child’s inclusive education
• Collaborate effectively with your child’s school team as an equal partner
• Identify and request “just right” supports that promote meaningful participation
• Navigate the IEP process to prioritize inclusive placements and strength-based goals
• Break down common barriers and myths that can lead to unnecessary separation

This isn’t just about education—it’s about building compassionate, supportive communities where differences are celebrated and every child’s strengths are honored. You’ll leave with practical ideas, real-life examples, and renewed confidence to advocate for your child’s right to learn and grow alongside their peers.

• AT is Everywhere: Visual Supports
  FCPS Assistive Technology Services (ATS)
  Visual supports are powerful tools for enhancing communication and learning in both educational and home settings. They can clarify verbal information, encourage child initiation, and support positive behavior management. This presentation will explore the many benefits of visual supports, including their use in choice-making, following directions, and establishing routines. Join us to discover valuable resources and free tools for creating your own effective visual aids.
• AT is Everywhere! Executive Functioning Tools & Strategies to Support Students
  FCPS Assistive Technology Services (ATS)
  We invite you to participate in a session focused on a continuum of tools and strategies that can enhance student support in the area of executive functioning.
• Behavior Basics: A Toolkit for Parents/Educators
  Carolyn Haydon, For the Children (FTC) Advocacy and Behavioral Consulting Services, LLC
  In this workshop, some common myths surrounding children’s behaviors will be dispelled. Parents and educators will be given the “why” behind children’s challenging behaviors and proactive approaches to support positive behavioral outcomes for children.
• Collaborative and Proactive Solutions: An Overview
  FCPS Behavior Intervention Services (BIS)
  Collaborative & Proactive Solutions is a model developed by Dr. Ross Greene that supports students and adults working together to solve problems. Learn about the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model and how students can be part of the problem solving process.
• Coping With My Child's Disability - Guilt Free
  FCPS, School Based Special Education Teacher
  Do you often feel overwhelmed and stressed out with providing care and support for your child's disability? Do you ever feel like you don’t understand and know what to do for your child or yourself? Is your child's disability affecting your relationships with others - family, friends, coworkers, or spouse/partner? Together we will share insights and strategies to help you take control and feel empowered to thrive - Guilt Free!
• English Language Development for Multilingual Learners
  FCPS Office of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Services
  This session will share the basics of what ESOL teachers do to provide English Language Development instruction. We will also review the WIDA assessment and what progress and proficiency look like.
• Feeling Lost? Find Your Way When Your Child's Needs Take You On the Road Less Traveled!
  Fairfax County Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA)
  During this workshop participants will learn about educational planning with an eye to the future, FCPS and community resources, troubleshooting breakdowns, collaborative problem-solving, and strategies to monitor and maintain a smooth path forward. Presented by the Advocacy Co-chairs from Fairfax County SEPTA (Special Education PTA), this overview touches on considerations for elementary through post-secondary age students, easy-to-access resources, accommodations, and strategies for collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution.
• I Didn't Know That Was There!!
  FCPS Special Education Teacher Support
  Unlock the full potential of the FCPS website for your child! In this session, you’ll explore essential FCPS websites that support student learning, special education services, technology, and family supports.
• Help! We Just Got an IEP!
  FCPS Family Resource Center (FRC)
  Need to know information and tips for families entering the Special Education world. Discover ways to maintain and improve your relationship with your child’s school.
• Math Strategies for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
  FCPS Adapted Curriculum
  In this session participants will learn about evidence-based practices in teaching students with significant cognitive disabilities and how they apply to math instruction. Specific early numeracy objectives will be discussed, along with related activities to support these objectives using items easily found within the home. A participant guide will be provided, containing a variety of tools and resources.
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS): A Framework for ALL Students
  FCPS Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
  This session will provide a brief overview of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in FCPS. Participants will learn how through this framework, schools provide students' academic, behavior, and social emotional wellness supports based on their individual needs.
• Navigating the IEP Process
  FCPS Office of Special Education Procedural Support (OSEPS)
  The Office of Special Education Procedural Support (OSEPS) will present information to assist parents in navigating the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The presentation aims to empower parents with the knowledge and tools necessary to engage with school staff to be equal partners in the IEP process
• Opioid Prevention
  FCPS Student Safety and Wellness
  Opioid use is a pressing public health concern that has a major impact on students, families, and communities. In this session, participants will learn how FCPS applies a cross-systems approach to combat the impact of the opioid epidemic, and important actions families can take to support their children.
• Providing supports to children who have a sibling with a Disability (From the FCPS Sibshops Team)
  FCPS School Social Work Services
  Members of the FCPS Sibshops team will share information about what the Sibshops Program is and provide psychoeducation and resources to support these children at home.
• Strength in Difference: Celebrating Neurodiversity in Our Schools
  Drs. Julie Causton and Kristi Pretti-Frontczak, Inclusive Schooling
  Families are at the heart of every child’s learning journey. In this session, we’ll explore how celebrating neurodiversity helps create welcoming schools where all children thrive. You’ll discover how your voice and partnership are essential to building inclusive environments—places where differences are seen as strengths and every child feels valued. We’ll share practical strategies you can use right away, including how to:
  • Work with your child’s school team to find the right supports that promote both independence and connection
  • Use natural supports like peers, familiar routines, and visual tools to help your child feel included and capable
  • Recognize behavior as communication and collaborate on compassionate, proactive plans that focus on understanding and connection
• Student Strengths & Academic and Career Planning
  FCPS Academic and Career Planning
  Everyone has strengths! How can we explore our kids' strengths and how do they impact planning for graduation, college, and careers?
• Supporting Your Child With Dyslexia: Beyond Labels
  FCPS Dyslexia Specialist
  In this session, we will talk about what dyslexia is, in addition to how to support your child. The session will explore the definition, facts, warning signs, impacts, as well as an overview of what reading instruction should look like, resources, and supports for students.
• The Power of Partnership: How Families and Schools Can Support Social and Emotional Learning
  FCPS Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Family and School Partnerships, Grants and Program Development
  Recognizing that families are students' first teachers, "The Power of Partnership," explores the results of the Family Engagement survey and how families and schools can collaborate to nurture students' social and emotional learning (SEL). Families will connect with each other while engaging in hands-on SEL activities that students experience in the classroom and can be used at home.
• Transition Services Overview for Students in Special Education
  FCPS Career and Transition Services (CTS)
  This presentation will inform the audience about the various services and programming that FCPS has available for students with IEPs to engage in post-secondary planning and transition services.
• Understanding the new ELA Curriculum: Benchmark Advance
  FCPS K-6 English Language Arts Office
  In this session, participants will learn more about the new ELA curriculum, Benchmark Advance, including the instructional design and learning focus as well as ways families can support students with learning at home.
• Understanding the Student Rights & Responsibilities (SR&R): A Guide for Families
  FCPS Equity and Student Conduct
  This interactive session will give families information on how to navigate the Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) to partner with their school and support their student with positive behavior approaches.
• Universal Design for Learning: What is it and how does this learning approach support all children in the classroom?
  FCPS Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Practices
  FCPS has committed as a division to the approach of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a brain-based learning approach and mindset to break down learning barriers, redesign learning environments and instruction with barriers in mind, and use brain-based strategies to make learning more accessible and inclusive for all students. This session will provide information on what UDL is, why FCPS has prioritized this inclusive approach and some concrete way it shows up in classroom spaces and instruction. In addition, participants will walk away with some UDL strategies that could be applied into other settings outside of school.
• Understanding the Advanced Academic Programs
  FCPS Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)
  Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) offers a comprehensive continuum of Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) designed to nurture and challenge students from kindergarten through 12th grade. This session will provide an overview of the various services and detail the identification processes for student placement. Participants will gain insights into how FCPS matches student needs with appropriate academic rigor to foster talent development and meet the needs of advanced learners.

• Behavior Basics: A Toolkit for Parents/Educators
  Carolyn Haydon, For the Children (FTC) Advocacy and Behavioral Consulting Services, LLC
  In this workshop, some common myths surrounding children’s behaviors will be dispelled. Parents and educators will be given the “why” behind children’s challenging behaviors and proactive approaches to support positive behavioral outcomes for children.
• Beyond Showing Up: Leveraging Home and School Partnerships to Promote Student Engagement and Attendance
  FCPS Social Work Services
  Join us as we focus on home and school partnerships to promote engagement and address attendance challenges. We will discuss how to transform attendance issues into opportunities for growth, foster open communication between home and school, listen to parent expertise, and affirm the daily hard work that parents take on to support their children. You will leave with creative strategies and collaborative solutions to boost your child's engagement and attendance.
• Collaborative and Proactive Solutions: An Overview
  FCPS Behavior Intervention Services (BIS)
  Collaborative & Proactive Solutions is a model developed by Dr. Ross Greene that supports students and adults working together to solve problems. Learn about the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model and how students can be part of the problem solving process.
• Coping With My Child's Disability - Guilt Free
  FCPS, School Based Special Education Teacher
  Do you often feel overwhelmed and stressed out with providing care and support for your child's disability? Do you ever feel like you don’t understand and know what to do for your child or yourself? Is your child's disability affecting your relationships with others - family, friends, coworkers, or spouse/partner? Together we will share insights and strategies to help you take control and feel empowered to thrive - Guilt Free!
• English Language Development for Multilingual Learners
  FCPS Office of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Services
  This session will share the basics of what ESOL teachers do to provide English Language Development instruction. We will also review the WIDA assessment and what progress and proficiency look like.
• Feeling Lost? Find Your Way When Your Child's Needs Take You On the Road Less Traveled!
  Fairfax County Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA)
  During this workshop participants will learn about educational planning with an eye to the future, FCPS and community resources, troubleshooting breakdowns, collaborative problem-solving, and strategies to monitor and maintain a smooth path forward. Presented by the Advocacy Co-chairs from Fairfax County SEPTA (Special Education PTA), this overview touches on considerations for elementary through post-secondary age students, easy-to-access resources, accommodations, and strategies for collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution.
• Fostering independence for Students with Autism and Developmental Disabilities
  FCPS Applied Behavior Analysis & Special Services
  This breakout will include an overview of how to prioritize communication, behavioral, and academic skills to foster independence by programming for generalization across settings.
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS): A Framework for ALL Students
  FCPS Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
  This session will provide a brief overview of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in FCPS. Participants will learn how through this framework, schools provide students' academic, behavior, and social emotional wellness supports based on their individual needs.
• Navigating the IEP Process
  FCPS Office of Special Education Procedural Support (OSEPS)
  The Office of Special Education Procedural Support (OSEPS) will present information to assist parents in navigating the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The presentation aims to empower parents with the knowledge and tools necessary to engage with school staff to be equal partners in the IEP process
• Opioid Prevention
  FCPS Student Safety and Wellness
  Opioid use is a pressing public health concern that has a major impact on students, families, and communities. In this session, participants will learn how FCPS applies a cross-systems approach to combat the impact of the opioid epidemic, and important actions families can take to support their children.
• Providing supports to children who have a sibling with a Disability (From the FCPS Sibshops Team)
  FCPS School Social Work Services
  Members of the FCPS Sibshops team will share information about what the Sibshops Program is and provide psychoeducation and resources to support these children at home.
• Strength in Difference: Celebrating Neurodiversity in Our Schools
  Drs. Julie Causton and Kristi Pretti-Frontczak, Inclusive Schooling
  Families are at the heart of every child’s learning journey. In this session, we’ll explore how celebrating neurodiversity helps create welcoming schools where all children thrive. You’ll discover how your voice and partnership are essential to building inclusive environments—places where differences are seen as strengths and every child feels valued. We’ll share practical strategies you can use right away, including how to:
  • Work with your child’s school team to find the right supports that promote both independence and connection
  • Use natural supports like peers, familiar routines, and visual tools to help your child feel included and capable
  • Recognize behavior as communication and collaborate on compassionate, proactive plans that focus on understanding and connection
• Student Strengths & Academic and Career Planning
  FCPS Academic and Career Planning
  Everyone has strengths! How can we explore our kids' strengths and how do they impact planning for graduation, college, and careers?
• Supporting Your Child With Dyslexia: Beyond Labels
  FCPS Dyslexia Specialist
  In this session, we will talk about what dyslexia is, in addition to how to support your child. The session will explore the definition, facts, warning signs, impacts, as well as an overview of what reading instruction should look like, resources, and supports for students.
• Supporting your Neurodiverse Teen in High School
  FCPS School-Based Administrator and School Social Work Services
  High school can pose unique obstacles for students with autism and ADHD. In this session, a school social worker supervisor and an assistant principal will provide parents and guardians with actionable strategies to support their teens. We'll cover key areas, including executive functioning skills, self-advocacy development, and effective organizational techniques. Whether your child is transitioning to high school or navigating their current experience, you'll learn how to utilize accommodations, build strong teacher relationships, and foster a successful learning environment. We'll conclude with an open Q&A and a review of available resources.
• The Power of Partnership: How Families and Schools Can Support Social and Emotional Learning
  FCPS Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Family and School Partnerships, Grants and Program Development
  Recognizing that families are students' first teachers, "The Power of Partnership," explores the results of the Family Engagement survey and how families and schools can collaborate to nurture students' social and emotional learning (SEL). Families will connect with each other while engaging in hands-on SEL activities that students experience in the classroom and can be used at home.
• The Power of Presence: 3 Mindfulness Practices for Families
  FCPS Therapy Services
  In this fun, interactive session caregivers and families will be introduced to the concept of mindfulness and its potential benefits for both themselves and their children. Designed to be fun and interactive, participants will leave with practical tools and strategies to incorporate mindfulness into their daily routines and foster greater well-being for themselves and their families.
• Transition Services Overview for Students in Special Education
  FCPS Career and Transition Services (CTS)
  This presentation will inform the audience about the various services and programming that FCPS has available for students with IEPs to engage in post-secondary planning and transition services.
• Twice-Exceptional Programming Resources: What Families Need to Know
  FCPS Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) and Behavior Intervention Services (BIS)
  Families will develop a deeper understanding of twice-exceptional (2e) programming, including how services are structured within the district and how individualized supports are implemented. Participants will explore available resources, learn how to navigate special education and advanced academic processes, and gain strategies to effectively advocate for their child's unique strengths and challenges.
• Understanding the new ELA Curriculum: Benchmark Advance
  FCPS K-6 English Language Arts Office
  In this session, participants will learn more about the new ELA curriculum, Benchmark Advance, including the instructional design and learning focus as well as ways families can support students with learning at home.
• Universal Design for Learning: What is it and how does this learning approach support all children in the classroom?
  FCPS Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Practices
  FCPS has committed as a division to the approach of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a brain-based learning approach and mindset to break down learning barriers, redesign learning environments and instruction with barriers in mind, and use brain-based strategies to make learning more accessible and inclusive for all students. This session will provide information on what UDL is, why FCPS has prioritized this inclusive approach and some concrete way it shows up in classroom spaces and instruction. In addition, participants will walk away with some UDL strategies that could be applied into other settings outside of school.
• What's to Share about Self, Health, and Relationship Education (SHaRE)
  FCPS Due Process and Eligibility (DP&E) and Health, Physical, Family Life, & Driver’s Education
  New Virginia legislation requires individualized education program (IEP) teams to think of the age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instructional needs of students accessing health and family life education. The Virginia Department of Education has provided schools with instructions on how to implement Self, Health, and Relationship Education (SHaRE). Starting March 24, 2025, when a student's IEP is reviewed, the IEP team will discuss the student's health and family life education needs (SHaRE).

For more information on the vendors listed below please visit our Community Resources for Families of Students with Disabilities page. 

Fairfax County Public Schools Offices and Programs

• Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities (ACSD)
• Career and Technical Education (CTE)
• College Success Program
• Educate Fairfax
• Family and School Partnerships
• Family Resource Center (FRC)
• Language Services
• Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee (MSAOC)
• Office of the Ombuds
• School Counseling Services
• School Psychology Services
• School Social Work Services
• Twice Exceptional (2e) Learners

Federal, State or Local Government Agency

• Fairfax County Public Library
• Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB)
• Neighborhood and Community Services
• Reston Community Center

Community Partners

• Anthem HealthKeepers Plus
• Be SMART
• Brain Injury Services
• Center for Adoption Support and Education
• DMV Unplugged
• ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia
• English Empowerment Center
• FACETS
• Fairfax Alliance of Black School Educators (FABSE)
• Fairfax County Council Parent Teacher Association (FCCPTA)
• Formed Families Forward
• Inclusive Pathways to Success
• INOVA Partnership for Healthier Communities
• Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) - Center for Workforce Development
• Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) - Youth Initiatives
• Our Minds Matter
• Pozez Jewish Community Center (JCC)
• Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC)
• Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia (POAC-NoVA)