As part of the Commemoration, Loyola Marymount University will acknowledge an outstanding Teacher, Parent, Counselor, School Psychologist, Administrator, Para-educator, Community Member and Government Official for their work supporting the education and inclusion of individuals with disabilities and their families. After receiving many worthy nominees, the following individuals and organizations are being recognized for their outstanding contributions.

Dr. Alice Parker
Title:
Assistant Superintendent, Director, Special Education, California Department of Education
Background:
Dr. Alice Parker has devoted over 36 years of her life to the education of students with disabilities. She was a speech and language specialist, classroom teacher, principal, and local director of special education prior to assuming her present position as Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction and the California State Director of Special Education in 1997. She currently oversees the provision of services for more than 650,000 children with disabilities throughout the state with an annual cost of over $4 billion. Dr. Parker represents Jack O'Connell, the Superintendent of Public Instruction as the Executive Secretary to the Advisory Commission on Special Education, and is a Council Member to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Dr. Parker is, and has been, a devoted advocate for parents and children. Her range of experiences at the local, regional, and state level, have provided her with a broad perspective regarding the procedural and programmatic challenges of achieving better results for students with disabilities and their families. As the past President of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Dr. Parker also has a keen national sense of practices and challenges in other states relative to the education of students with disabilities.

Dr. Parker is currently engaged in restructuring our large state bureaucracy to better serve the needs of students with disabilities with a strong focus on improved behavior and reading achievement. Her vision includes continuously improving the educational outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, promoting a unified system of education in California, and making sure that parents are embraced as partners in the education of their child.

Dr. Parker will be retiring from her position at the end of this year and after a well deserved rest will begin her work as a consultant to the Cambium Learning Company.


Helen Jackson
Title:
Retired Para-Educator, Los Angeles Unified School District
Background:
Helen Jackson, a retired paraprofessional for LAUSD, has devoted her professional life to children and youth who receive special education services. Ms. Jackson began her work at the McBride Special Education Center with students with severe disabilities. She then moved to the Assessment Center for pre school students with special needs, mentoring new teachers and helping to keep this center open for parents and students in need. Later, when the Assessment Center closed, she returned to McBride where she cheerfully changed diapers, fed students, and continued to educate teachers. In 1987, she became an important member of the district's new program, the Least Restrictive Support Team. As a member of this team, Helen Jackson helped lead the way for true inclusion and integration of students with special needs into their neighborhood school communities. One example of her work involved the inclusion at Irving Middle School of a young man from Perez Special Education Center. Before Helen's intervention, which included daily social skills instruction, this student had not been able to make eye contact, had never been out to eat in a restaurant, attended a movie or had a trip to Disneyland. He successfully graduated from his middle school with a standing ovation.

The care and dedication she exhibited in her work has left a lasting impression on the educational community, and most importantly, on the lives of the many students that she has touched.


Robert Farran
Title:
Director, Southwest Special Education Local Plan Area
Background:
Bob Farran has labored tirelessly over the past 31 years on behalf of students with special needs, their parents, and educators. As a speech and language pathologist, teacher, administrator and director, Bob has always put the children first. As the current director of the Southwest Special Education Plan Local Area or SELPA in Los Angeles County, one of the largest in California with over 12,000 students with special needs, Bob has developed many innovative programs to provide solutions for parents and students. He developed the Autism Counseling Team, an itinerant team comprised of school psychologists, occupational therapists, and behaviorists, who identify problems, make recommendations, and remain at the school to help implement recommendations for the students. He has also developed the Family Resource Center to help all parents be properly informed so that they can be engaged partners in their child's education. In addition, he is an active member of the Community Advisory Committee, the public outreach arm of the SELPA, and recently added a parents training session conducted entirely in Spanish to serve the needs of the Hispanic families in his region. Lastly, Bob is politically involved, and continues to advocate for legislation in California, which benefits children with exceptional needs.

Bob Farran is a unique public administrator because he can bridge the gap between the government and the people it serves. As one of his nominators wrote, "With elegance and grace, he serves two masters; the parents who have a responsibility to their children and the schools who have a responsibility to all children; but ultimately, he serves one master -- the children."


Colette Moore
Title:
Principal, Our Lady of Fatima School, Diocese of Orange
Background:
Colette Moore has been a strong advocate for children with disabilities and their families for the past 17 years. Her interest began with her oldest child's diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during his kindergarten year. Finding a lack of meaningful services, Collette revitalized L.A.D.D.E.R.S. (Local Attention Deficit Education Resource And Support) in south Orange County. Over the next five years, she published a monthly newsletter of information and resources to over 500 recipients while also facilitating monthly support meetings for Orange County parents. Collaborating with the YMCA Family Counseling Services, Colette organized the first summer camp program for children with ADHD in California, and was recognized by the YMCA for enhancing support, and quality of life for individuals with learning disabilities in Orange County.

As a Catholic school principal in the Diocese of Orange, Colette was the driving force on the Task Force for Inclusion in Catholic Schools for seven years, four of them as chair. She was instrumental in establishing a certificate and master's program for Catholic school inclusion specialists in the Diocese of Orange with the Loyola Marymount University's School of Education. Expanding the program to the University of San Francisco, Colette initiated the inclusion curriculum in the ICEL Program there. Today, each of the 35 elementary schools in the Diocese of Orange has an inclusion program.


Richard Cohen
Title:
Independent Documentary Filmmaker
Background:
Richard Cohen is an independent documentary filmmaker who has been producing, writing, editing and marketing documentaries for the last 30 years. His films, "Going to School/Ir A La Escuela," "Hurry Tomorrow," and "Taylor's Campaign," are celebrated works for their dramatic and artistic portrayal of real people struggling with stigma and prejudice, defying systemic and physical obstacles. His films have had significant impact and have been shown at international independent film festivals. In 1993 Richard Cohen found himself involved in the effort to bring the nation s second largest school district into compliance with federal and state laws, through the film, "Going to School/Ir a la Escuela." The film received critical acclaim and the National Video Resources 2004 Human Rights Video honor. In an interview, Cohen said, "Mostly I want viewers to watch the film and feel the humanity of the parents and the children, and the teachers sharing their lives. The idea that special education is not a place, but services that can be delivered anywhere is something essential to understanding inclusion."

Because of his chosen medium, he is able to repeatedly and positively influence film goers, as well as students, and future generations of teachers, sociologists, writers, disability rights activists, homeless and mental health advocates, and other professionals. The films of Richard Cohen have earned him respect in three of the most disenfranchised communities: the mental health community, the disability community, and the homeless.


Parent U Turn
UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access
Background:
Parent U-turn is a parent Group that serves the needs and defends the rights of individuals with disabilities and their families. It is a grass roots multi-racial parent advocacy group that helps low income, first generation, and immigrant families learn about the education system and how to better navigate public schools. It offers a striking example of collaboration between African-American and Latino parents in south east Los Angeles as the group encourages members to think about the interests of all students.

Parent U-Turn spends significant time and resources meeting with and advocating for families with special needs. For almost 10 years, Parent U-Turn has worked with families from South Gate High School, South Gate Middle School, and Hossler Middle School. Parent U-Turn members function in many ways like  lawyers that highly resourced parents hire to hold schools accountable. Members meet with parents and students, consult about the needs of the family, and often accompany parents with their child to the IEP, often joining the family at subsequent mediation or arbitration hearings. Most recently, Parent U-Turn has worked with teacher education programs at Cal State Northridge, Cal State LA, UCLA, LMU, and Pepperdine, to educate teacher candidates about families rights and how to work effectively with parents of all children, especially those with special needs.

Parent U-Turn expects nothing in return for their service except for a commitment from their  clients to continue advocating for their children. Parent U-Turn represents the spirit, hope and resiliency necessary to transform the Education for All Handicapped Education Act into a living and cultural practice.