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Winnie O'Leary

Winnie O’Leary has spent over 25 years in education, as a classroom teacher, school board member, a family advocate, special education teacher, curriculum writer and currently a Curriculum Manager for Edmentum. Her experiences have allowed her to work with districts all over the country where she finds something new and exciting every day. 

All Posts by Winnie O'Leary

Five Current Trending Issues in Special Education

Let’s take a deeper look into some of the top five issues that are currently trending in the world of special education.

Special Education Screening: Assessments Educators Might Not (But Should) Be Familiar With

The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students' learning and teachers' teaching by providing powerful, consumable information.

Good Question: How Much Homework Should Students Be Assigned?

Here’s a loaded question—how much homework should students actually be assigned? None? A ton? Somewhere in between? Only on Mondays? Only on weekends? Only for math?

Good Question: How Can Educators Make Competition in the Classroom Effective?

We’ve all heard the line about “a little healthy competition,” right?

[Special Populations] Supporting Twice-Exceptional Students in the Classroom

Educators recognize that 2E students exist—often in the shadows—of the classroom. However, the real challenge is how to accurately identify these students, understand the challenges that they face, and implement whole-child-based strategies to best support them. Savvy teachers are now learning how to allow these students to experience the same opportunities available for gifted students and learn in ways that highlight their strengths, while addressing their challenges.

Educator First in Action: Incorporating Social Justice Frameworks in Edmentum Curriculum with Teaching Tolerance

Within the curriculum department, we chose to work with Teaching Tolerance in order to learn more about school climate, instruction, classroom culture, family and community engagement, and teacher leadership. The work we did in that PD session was meaningful, and it’s really stuck with me—I still find myself reaching back to some of the conversations that took place to find understanding and tolerance as well as examine my own thoughts and reactions on a daily basis.

Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices for Educators

Let’s take a deeper look into some of the various sources of student trauma, how to identify students affected by trauma, and also consider some resources available to educators to support students and programs that must manage these events.

Understanding the Challenges Faced by Homeless Students: What Educators Can Do to Help

In this post, we will discuss the signs educators can watch for to identify homeless students, understand how homelessness impacts learning, review the current legislation, and discuss what educators can do to support students in these situations.