Cassidy Diaz
Assistant Editor
For Jessica Decker, professor of teacher education, lifelong learning and advocating for inclusivity in education continue to grow for her as an educator and student.
Decker presented “Insights from Sabbatical: Returning to the Life of a Student,” for the La Verne Academy series at noon, Tuesday, in the Quay Davis Executive Board Room.
During her spring of 2025 sabbatical, Decker entered a new era of parenting, life and education that led her to enroll in classes here at the University, and support her daughter through health issues and learning disabilities. high sc
“My daughter Avery’s eighth-grade year of school was really the tipping point that led to what I did with my sabbatical,” Decker said. “She’s on an individualized education plan so she does not learn like most other people.”
Decker discussed her own frustration as a parent who felt her child’s education was not being supported. This led Decker to explore the world of special education and inclusive education, which brings inclusivity and curriculum together in general education classrooms.
So when planning her sabbatical project, Decker made the decision to earn her education specialist credential here at the University to get a better understanding of the divide between general education and special education teaching.
“I enrolled in classes here and sat next to some of the very same students who I had taught the prior semester,” Decker said. “They were confused, but it was a lot of fun.”
Decker is currently student-teaching two-to-three times a week in a high school special education class to find the divide between perspective components in classrooms.
“I started on this journey in terms of just thinking about what are the cultural components, the social components of these various groups of general education teachers, special education teachers and parents and how they function together,” Decker said.
Decker learned about co-teaching, where you have one classroom with two teachers, a general educator and a special educator, working together to educate their students.
“Being a parent in the process of an IEP with my daughter means having regular meetings at the school with teachers, administrators and psychologists, and documentation of what’s working and what’s not,” Decker said.
Decker said her new broadened perspective allows her to share her story with her graduate students here so they know better what they are getting into when entering the teaching profession.
There are a lot of pieces to working in special education, and IEPs, such as writing goals, benchmark goals and assessing students, including using higher level intelligence assessments done by psychologists. Special education teachers themselves have to do assessments in different content areas and have to understand how to interpret them.
“One thing is to just meet students where they are,” said Jason Neidleman, professor of political science, reflecting on Decker’s talk. “You have to be more creative and determined in terms of how you make sure that you’re teaching your students in the best way they’re capable of learning.”
“Jessica talked about relationship building,” said Valerie Beltran, professor of teacher education who also attended the Tuesday talk. “The important matter … is if we are making connections and building relationships with our students,” Beltran said. “Because if we don’t do that then our students don’t feel safe to question, to disagree, to really do the critical thinking.”
Decker is currently co-writing a manuscript about her experience educating general education teachers about special education and the various perspectives in classrooms.
Cassidy Diaz can be reached at cassidy.diazgomez@laverne.edu.
Cassidy Diaz is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. She is also news editor for the Campus Times, and previously served as an assistant editor and a staff writer.
