Welcome to our Raising the Standards Conference!

Raising the Standards is a statewide virtual conference for families of children with disabilities, educators, and professionals supporting youth and their families in early intervention and special education.

Thank your to everyone who participated. If you would like to go back and review the sessions, you can find the recordings on our Facebook Page.
To view the schedule and speaker bios for 2024 click here.

Session 1: April 8, 12pm-2:30pm Facebook Recording
– Welcome from APEC: Teresa Moulton
– Growing Up with Dyslexia: Limuel Eubanks, M. ED, M.F.A, PreK-12 Arts Education Director, Mississippi Department of Education
– THINK College Panel: Amy Williamson

Session 2: April 9, 8:30am-12:30pm Facebook Recording
– Flip the Switch: Turn OFF Anxiety and Turn ON Life! by Hettie Johnson, MA CCC/SLP Speech-Language Pathologist
– The Prevention Initiative to Protect Alabama Youth (Prerecorded): Jeff Davis, Fowler Davis Ideas in Motion
– PRETTS: Tasha Betts-Harrison

Session 3: April 9, 1:00pm-4:00pm Facebook Recording
– How the Media Can Be Your Friend: Tricia Powell-Cain, Senior Education Reporter
– What Every Parent Should Know About Planning for Independence: Jennifer McInerney, Parmer Lay Attorney
– Alabama’s Early Intervention System, A Step Ahead: Amy Blakeney, ADRS/Division of Early Intervention Director

Session 4: April 10, 8:30am-12:00pm Facebook Recording
– Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Alabama: Lilleta Jenkins, Director of Community Outreach and Engagement, Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education
– All Kids/All Babies (Services and Benefits): Erica Hornton, Outreach and Education Worker
– BCBA and ABA, Clarifying Expectations: D. Reed Bechtel

Session 5: April 10, 1:00pm-4:30pm Facebook Recording
– Focus MD (Prerecorded): Dr. Tenequa Moore
– Safe at Home: Melissa Walters, Safe at Home
– Coordinated Set of Activities and A Results Oriented Process – What Employment Transition Services Should Look Like: Andrea Mixson, Sr. Staff Attorney, Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program

Session 6: April 11, 8:30am-12:30pm Facebook Recording
– Special Education Transition Planning for a Full Life: Jeana Winter, APEC
– TBD: Ashley Crawley, Special Education Panel
– PEER Support: Nicholas Sneed, Director of PEER Services

Certificates of Attendance may be requested after you have completed polls and the conference evaluation. 

You can also join our Facebook group, answer the questions, and learn more including watching previous year’s presentations. Handouts can be found on our Handouts page.

We also encourage you to participate in our monthly webinars to learn helpful information regarding Parent Training. You can check it out on our Calendar page.

For more information, contact Teresa Moulton (AL PTI Training Coordinator) at ptitraining@alabamaparentcenter.com or call our office at 334-567-2252.

To view last year’s conference, 2023, visit our Facebook page.

2022 Raising the Standards video Sessions
Click Here to view 2022 Session 1
Click Here to view 2022 Session 2
Click Here to view 2022 Session 3 
Click Here to view 2022 Session 4

For videos from 2021 Raising the Standards Conference, click on our YouTube Links for each session:  
2021Session 1,
2021Session 2,
2021Session 3,
2021Session 4 

For those who desire the session in another language, follow our Easy Steps for the desired subtitles.