Summer Professional Development Courses
Live and on Demand Professional Development for BCBAs
Join us the first Friday* of every month to explore cutting edge topics specifically designed for BCBAs. Participants can join live via Zoom or view the recording after the session.
Asynchronous and Synchronous Options | Rolling Admission; Participants can earn up to (14) CEs
Literacy Foundations for English Learners
This course serves as a foundation in the methods, materials and approaches for teaching foundational literacy to English learners in grades PK-4.
Asynchronous | June 23 – August 22 2025; Earn 30 PDPs
Science of Reading
This course provides a strong foundation in the best practices of literacy instruction. Essential areas of reading instruction are addressed: understanding the science of reading, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension.
Asynchronous | June 23 – August 22 2025; Earn 10 PDPs
Providing Reading Intervention for Students Grades 4-9
This graduate course will provide a scaffolded opportunity to learn more from foundational documents and key components of literacy as well as supplemental scholarly literature, tools, and activities that help to strengthen pedagogical practices and target interventions based on real live data.
Asynchronous | June 23 – August 22 2025; Earn 30 PDPs
Participants may choose to apply for 2 optional graduate credits
How to Provide Effective Support to English Learners in the School Library
This professional development course, specifically created for School Librarians, focuses on the English language/multilingual learner experience, EL/ML law, teaching all learners, connecting with families and EL/ML teachers and ways to make our space and resources more welcoming to EL/ML students.
Live via Zoom on Fridays, August 1st and August 22nd from 9:00am – 12:00pm with an additional (9) asynchronous hours online
Mindset Matters from Surviving to Thriving in All Areas
Feeling like you are just getting through the day? Stress and burnout doesn’t have to derail you. This session will show you how to Refocus and Recharge daily.
Live via Zoom | Tuesday, August 5, 2025 9:00am – 11:00am
Data-Based Decision Making and MTSS
Unlock the power of data to enhance student outcomes with our in-depth workshop on Data-Based Decision Making and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). This workshop is tailored for educators, school leaders, and support staff who are committed to leveraging data to drive instructional practices and support all students effectively.
Live and Recorded via Zoom | Tuesdays, August 5th, August 12th & August 19th, 9:30am – 11:30am and Thursday, August 14th, 9:30am – 11:30am
Effective Communication for Stronger Family Engagement in Special Education
In this session, we will explore how strong family-school communication can make a big difference in Special Education. We’ll look at how better family engagement can lead to improved student success, a more positive school environment, and a smoother, more collaborative special education process.
Live via Zoom | Wednesday, August 13 2025; 10am – 12pm
Introduction to Adaptive Music
This one-day, in-person course is for in-service general music teachers who are looking for philosophy, language, tools, and activities to support their work with students with disabilities including autism.
Live in Person at ACCEPT | Friday, August 15, 2025; 9:00am – 3:00pm
Supporting Bilingual Students in the Early Childhood Classroom
Our classrooms in many cities have become very diverse, and every year teachers are interacting with bilingual/bicultural students from many parts of the world. Teachers at every grade level, but especially, in the Early Childhood years (pre-school, Headstart), need to be prepared to be able to recognize the specific language needs of this population and when it would be appropriate to make a referral for a speech-language or special education evaluation.
Virtual via Zoom | Monday, August 18; 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Igniting Joy: A Path to Innovative Learning
Step into a world where education is ignited with passion and innovation. ‘Igniting Joy in the Classroom: A Path to Innovative Learning’ is a transformative course designed to empower educators to reignite their passion for educating while embracing innovative strategies that spark creativity, engagement, and growth in the classroom.
Live in Person at ACCEPT | August 18 – August 21, 2025; 9am – 12pm with additional time working in small groups
Maximizing Mentorships: Best Practices in Mentoring New Teachers
Based on the popular work of master teacher mentors, Carol Pelletier (Mentoring in Action) and Lois Zachary (The Mentor’s Guide) and the MA DESE Mentoring Guidelines, this workshop is designed to provide practical and reflective principles and activities that help the teacher mentor maximize trust, collegiality, communication, reflection and personal growth with their mentee.
Live in Person at ACCEPT or Join Virtually | Monday, August 25, 2025; 9:00am – 12:00pm
Asynchronous Courses
- Identify the current timelines related to the new IEP form to ensure proper implementation.
- Develop an understanding of the currently released IEP forms through direct exposure and practice scenarios.
- Understand the feedback related to the new IEP process and forms by the Early Adopter teams who piloted it early.
Price:
ACCEPT Member: $210
ACCEPT Non-Member: $250
Based on the popular work of master teacher mentors, Carol Pelletier (Mentoring in Action) and Lois Zachary (The Mentor’s Guide) and the MA DESE Mentoring Guidelines, this workshop is designed to provide practical and reflective principles and activities that help the teacher mentor maximize trust, collegiality, communication, reflection and personal growth with their mentee. The asynchronous format allows the mentor, to go at their own pace, while completing activities that will be useful in their mentoring journey.
This course focuses on the Effective Principles of Effective Mentoring as outlined in the work of Carol Pelletier in Mentoring in Action. This workshop lays the foundation for thoughtful, successful mentorship for either beginning teachers or teachers who are new to a district.
A second part of this course is being developed and will focus on the work of Lois Zachary (The Mentor’s Guide) and extends the 5 principles of effective mentoring into actionable practices for the mentor.
Pricing:
Member
- Single Registrant: $185
- District – 25 participants and below – $1560
- District – 26-100 participants – $1875
- District – 101-175 participants – $ 2030
- District – 176+ participants – $2340
Non-Member
- Single Registrant: $235
- District – 25 participants and below – $2600
- District – 26-100 participants – $3120
- District – 101-175 participants – $ 3510
- District – 176+ participants – $3900
This workshop is designed to help teachers and mentor teachers better understand the MA Teacher Evaluation System for the purpose of successful completion. The workshop is a step by step approach that allows participants to complete their own Educator Plan while completing the workshop.
The Four Focus Areas of the workshop include:
- Focus Area 1: Create a common understanding of the professional Standards for Educators and the Focus Indicators as defined by the DESE.
- Focus Area 2: Create strong student learning goals and action steps.
- Focus Area 3: Create strong professional practice goals and actions steps.
- Focus Area 4: Identify meaningful evidence and artifacts.
This course will take approximately 10 hours to complete.
Audience: Teachers who are unfamiliar with the Teacher Evaluation System or need a refresher, Mentor Teachers who are Assisting New Teachers through the Evaluation process.
Location: Online & Asynchronous
Earn: 10 PDPs
Pricing:
Member
- Single Registrant: $185
- District – 25 participants and below – $1560
- District – 26-100 participants – $1875
- District – 101-175 participants – $ 2030
- District – 176+ participants – $2340
Non-Member
- Single Registrant: $235
- District – 25 participants and below – $2600
- District – 26-100 participants – $3120
- District – 101-175 participants – $ 3510
- District – 176+ participants – $3900
In support of building instructional capacity and providing exemplary educational services for all students, ACCEPT has developed an affordable online paraprofessional training program. This program offers total flexibility, allowing participants to begin at any time during the year. Advanced tracking features also allow districts to see participants’ progress within each learning module to inform future professional development opportunities.
Each of the modules listed below requires approximately 2-3 hours to complete. They can be completed in any order. Our course utilizes the Blackboard online learning platform, one of the most widely used online course sites in higher education institutions. The ease-of-use and interactive features make this tool an invaluable resource to provide innovative professional development opportunities to your employees.
Pricing:
Member
- Less than 50 participants: $1460
- More than 50 participants: $1875
Non-Member
- Less than 50 participants: $2100
- More than 50 participants: $2600
Name | Live and On Demand Professional Development for BCBAs |
Audience | BCBAs |
Presenter Name(s) | Lisa Gurdin MS, BCBA, LABA |
Presenter Bio(s) | For over 20 years, Lisa Gurdin MS, BCBA, LABA, (she/her) has been working with students, families, and school-based professionals with students from preschool to age 22 with a range of special needs and complex profiles. Ms. Gurdin supports educational professionals through consultation, student evaluations, and staff training. She works collaboratively with parents and school professionals to facilitate integrated supports across settings thereby maximizing behavior change and skill development. Ms. Gurdin also provides parent coaching to help parents implement behavioral strategies to improve behavior, encourage independence, and build stronger family relationships. Prior to starting her own private practice, she worked as the Clinical Coordinator for LABBB Collaborative in Massachusetts. In this role, she supervised a team of BCBAs, provided clinical oversight, managed home-based programming, consulted with school teams on complex cases in area school districts, conducted staff training, and provided ongoing consultation to classrooms across the collaborative. Ms. Gurdin is also a Part-Time Lecturer at Northeastern University. Before becoming an ACE Provider, she was the ACE Coordinator for the BCBA Roundtable at EDCO Collaborative in Massachusetts. As an ACE Provider, she coordinates and presents continuing education workshops for local school-based behavior analysts. When she is not working, she is taking care of her three children, ages 19, 17, and 13, and two dogs. |
Description | Join us the first Friday* of every month to explore cutting edge topics specifically designed for BCBAs. Participants can join live via Zoom or view the recording after the session. Dates and Topics:
* (2nd) Friday
|
Synchronous / Asynchronous | Synchronous and Asynchronous |
Location | Live via Zoom and On Demand Options |
Dates & Times | Sessions meet on Fridays (see above schedule) live via Zoom from 12pm – 1:30pm with an optional Q & A from 1:30pm – 2:00pm. Participants can choose to attend the first session in October in person at ACCEPT Collaborative, 4 Tech Circle in Natick or join via Zoom. ALL sessions are recorded and are available On Demand after the session |
PDPs | Participants can earn up to (14) CEs |
Credit | n/a |
Cost | $235 ACCEPT members/$285 non-members |
Registration Deadline | Rolling registration |
Note: Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities: We want to provide the best learning experience for everyone in compliance of the ADA, should you require any accommodations to fully participate in this training please contact [email protected].