A Special Education Teacher, Administrator and Lawyer walk into a bar....all you ever wanted to know about special education
In this podcast, we hope to share information, lessons learned, interviews with VIPs in the field of special education. Join Robin Fabiano, Abby Hanscom and Angela Smagula as they bring diverse viewpoints and some humor to an otherwise serious topic.
Episodes
163 episodes
Charter Chatter Pt. 2
Listen in as Robin, Angela and Abby interview Brian Harrigan and Deb Westaway from the Parker Charter School in Harvard, MA about their experience with the provision of special education in charter schools.Learn more about Parker a...
EL Evaluations
Listen in as Robin, Angela and Abby discuss a recent Chalkbeat article about the Newark, NJ public schools a...
The Science of...Math
Tonight Abby and Robin talk about the science of Math. This movement is a response to ongoing math achievement gaps for all students and suggests that it is just as important to teach procedural fluency (Facts/algorithms) as it is conceptual un...
When Feedback Crosses the Line
Listen in when Angela, Robin and Abby discuss a recent article from the Harvard Business Review about the power of feedback - especially when it crosses a line and becomes destructive.
Mail Bag
Join Robin and Angela as they answer questions from listeners. Can you think of an out of the box acronym? Let us know!
Clickbait
Listen in as Robin, Angela and Abby discuss an article from 2023 that questions the effectiveness of Inclusion. While it is a couple of years old, it has recently resurfaced in the discussion threads on the internet. Here is the
Location, Location, Location
Listen in as Angela breaks down a very recent Massachusetts Appeals Court ruling (linked below) clarifying the "place regulation". This regulation informs how the location of services is determined for students who do not attend public school.<...
The Great Homework Debate
Listen in as Robin and Abby jump into the Homework Debate! The article below is a great resource for the research referenced in their convo!Is Homework Necessa...
There's More to Heated Rivalry Than Cute Butts
During this podcast, Robin and Angela talk about the nuanced depiction of Shane's autism in the hit show Heated Rivalry (HBO). Time article
Charter School Chatter
Listen in as Angela leads us through the confusing world of Charter School special education compliance. This may end up being a two-parter!!!References:MADESE Charter School In...
Snow Day Throwback: Movie Episode
We are burried in snow so resharing an episode from 2024 during which Robin and Angela discuss the TLC show Braylen Out Loud. This is timely because Tourette Syndrome is in the news this week... Read about it here:
An overarching Umbrella (?) of Topics for 2026
5 key stories to follow in 2026
My Brother's Keeper: Interview with David Tynes
Listen in as Robin and Abby interview David Tynes, the Director of the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts' Saturday Program (and many other things). David is also the Head Coach of the Cambridge Special Olympics Men's Basketball team, The Warrior...
What the F?
There's a different way of thinking about child development and how special education services fit in that turns the medical model upside down. Listen in as Robin and Abby discuss the Five F-Words and the model they represent. In 2011, Rosenbau...
Manifesting Inclusion
Listen in as Robin, Angela and Abby take a spin in the way back machine all the way to 2002.That's when Cheryl Jorgensen and her colleagues at UNH wrote the Essential Best Practices in Inclusive Schools, Rappaport et. al 2002 (r...
There’s always another factor…
Join Angela, Robin and Abby as they take a look at the factors courts and schools consider when determining effective progress. Spoiler: they are usually not the same!
Angela Learns What Her IPhone Can Do
Have you seen this apple accessibility video? In our 1st episode back in season 6, Abby, Robin and Angela talk about the cool tools out there supporting students at the colleg...
Holiday Hoopla (and Advocacy)
Listen in as Angela, Robin and Abby discuss two big dates in November and December - the actual 50th Birthday of the IDEA and National Inclusive Schools Week 2025. Here are some links related to both events and a link to help you identify who y...
We're Thankful for YOU....and so is NASET!
Last week Robin, Abby and Angela were live on NASET (National Association of Special Education Teachers)'s monthly webinar for a mini pod and Q&A. Here is the recording of that episode- enjoy...
Rethinking Time Out
Listen in as Angela, Robin and Abby discuss the new Massachusetts regulations redefining Time Out and Seclusion. For documents related to the discussion see the
Team Meetings Gone Wild!!!
Sometimes, people lose their cool in Team meetings!! Listen in while Angela, Robin and Abby discuss strategies you can use to manage these moments in real time, intervene beforehand so they don't happen at all and follow up if they do.&n...
Throw Back episode!
Sorry! We couldn't record this week, so please enjoy a repeat episode in which Robin and Angela discuss steps that can be taken when a student case starts to get litigous. We'll be back next week!
Out of District Monitoring
Listen in as Robin, Angela and Abby discuss Massachusetts' new Out of District Placement monitoring process and form. Here is a link to the