Meeting educators where they are, and moving them forward.

Participants explore how instruction that is not designed to give all students access can be unintentionally detrimental to students.  Attendees leave with a shifted mindset and concrete strategies for designing learning environments where every student — regardless of disability label — is positioned as a capable mathematician.  

The PANDAS Framework is a six-step, structured approach to mathematical problem solving designed to support students with disabilities in making sense of word problems. By breaking the problem-solving process into discrete, manageable steps, PANDAS reduces cognitive overwhelm while building the independent mathematical reasoning skills students need for long-term success.  

 This session redefines rigor as depth of thinking: the ability to reason, justify, connect, and apply. Participants examine what genuinely rigorous math instruction looks like for students with disabilities  and explore how low floor, high ceiling tasks, strategic questioning, and discourse routines can elevate thinking without creating unnecessary barriers to access.

This session introduces educators to powerful visual tools — number lines, tape diagrams, area models, and more — that make abstract concepts concrete and accessible for all learners at every proficiency level. Participants practice selecting and sequencing visual representations that reduce cognitive load while preserving mathematical rigor and supporting deeper conceptual understanding.  

 This session equips general and special education teachers with practical co-teaching models, communication frameworks, and lesson design strategies that maximize the strengths of both educators to better serve all learners in math classrooms.