Yes We Can! An Unprecedented Opportunity
to Improve Special Education Outcomes Workshop

Portland, Oregon | May 13–14, 2026

Venue

Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Downtown
319 SW Pine St
Portland, OR 97204
Directions

Parking: $25 overnight valet with in-and-out privileges;
$5 non-overnight/event-only parking

Workshop Overview

State adoption of more rigorous academic standards underscores the sense of urgency for schools to determine how to ensure all students learn at the highest levels—including multilingual learners, children with special needs, children from poverty, and children facing trauma. During this hands-on training designed for school or districtwide teams, general and special educators will discover how to utilize PLC best practices to develop collaborative partnerships and identify high-leverage structures and strategies that will level the playing field, accelerate learning, and support success for all students.

Learning Outcomes

Learn strategies for building a school culture that believes all students can succeed.
Examine collaborative structures to support high levels of learning.
Explore the essential elements of a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
Understand how to design what a balanced and coherent system of assessment looks like.
Discover a protocol for unpacking and prioritizing units at the team level, including scaffolding instruction.
Know what it means to design standards-aligned instruction with a focus on tailoring learning based on data.
Realize the connections among response to intervention (RTI), professional learning communities (PLCs), and special education and how they all work together in a continuum of service.
Identify individualized education program (IEP) goals specific to student areas of deficit and aligned to priority standards.
Recognize what is important in developing systems for efficiently and formatively monitoring student progress toward learning goals.
Develop a plan for site-based next steps.

Jeanne Spiller

Jeanne Spiller has more than 30 years of experience in K–12 education, author and education. She has served as a classroom teacher, administrator, and assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, bringing a deep commitment to student success and educational leadership. Jeanne supports schools and districts through workshops, coaching, and collaborative initiatives to enhance instruction, foster innovation, and promote equity.

A coauthor of five books and editor of a K–12 literacy series, Jeanne is dedicated to advancing educational practices and literacy development.

Evaluate Your Presenter!

We value your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this quick evaluation at the end of Day 2.

Supporting Documents

Materials are copyrighted. Workshop participants may print these pages for personal use and note-taking during the event. Additionally, pages marked “Reproducible” can be reproduced freely without permission as long as they are not reprinted in a formal book that is published and sold; copyright lines on Reproducible pages must remain intact. Otherwise, no part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of Solution Tree. Please contact pubs@SolutionTree.com for permission to duplicate any materials.

More powerful

resources to explore

Browse our full online bookstore and save 30% on five or more titles, plus free shipping.

Use code YWCPORT26 by June 13, 2026, at SolutionTree.com.

Learn more

On-site and continental US only.

Certificate of Participation

You will receive a certificate of participation within six weeks after the event concludes.

Please check with your district office for CEU availability. For more information, click here.

Yes We Can! An Unprecedented Opportunity to Improve Special Education Outcomes Workshop