Think Inclusive How Poway Unified Transformed Special Education
Megan Gross — Special education teacher (14 years) and teacher on special assignment supporting inclusive practices and leading professional learning for K–12 teams in the Poway Unified school district. 2017 California Teacher of the Year and co‑author of The Inclusion Toolbox (with Dr. Jenny Kurth) and ParaEducate (with Renay Marquez).
Nancy Brundrett — Special education instructional assistant (19 years) and the district’s first classified on special assignment, providing job‑embedded coaching for instructional assistants, supporting school teams to implement inclusive practices, and leading professional learning.
In this episode, host Tim Villegas talks with Megan Gross and Nancy Brundrett about how Poway Unified school district shifted from celebrated segregated programs to a system where all students are general education students first. They walk through the leadership moves, the opt‑in pilot approach, the creation of on‑special‑assignment roles, and the day‑to‑day coaching that make inclusion work in real classrooms.
Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/bonus-megan-gross-and-nancy-brundrett-what-inclusive-education-looks-like-at-poway-unified/