Dana's Blog

This Is What "Beginning With The End In Mind" Looked Like for Cope Consulting LLC!

11/11/2024

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey was published in 1989 when I graduated from high school. The second habit, Begin With the End in Mind is based on imagination. As Albert Einstein wrote, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” When I left the school district we started with the vision of the "end" of what we wanted Cope Consulting LLC to represent. Our vision is now complete and ready for our next impossible mission!

Beginning with the end in mind is where we have started with every seemingly impossible mission we have been given. Who are we, you ask? It's our connection to our intuitive heart's voices that enables us to see problems from multiple perspectives. It then connects us to people and situations that need healing. Our job is to bring love and compassion to those we serve as we listen and learn from everyone we meet. It guides us toward facing fear with love. While we will no longer sacrifice our family's health to accomplish our next mission, we vow to light the way forward and unite all stakeholders.

We have chosen to see the light that comes from darkness. We understand that everything is impermanent, and that the pendulum always swings between extremes before it can come back to balance. Embracing change with love allows our imagination to dream big! There are many pathways to a desired destination. We don't have to agree on one, but together, we can use these unsettling times as opportunities to examine our systems and make changes that will support us all.

There is only one of each of us. Each of us is given a unique pathway to fulfill our mission here. Cope Consulting LLC's mission is to help others see light in their time of darkness. The way is through, and your stars are connecting as we speak!

The system is being shaken up so it can change and evolve which will inevitably impact and further our progress together as a nation. It's our shared journey/destination, and we will all turn out fine.

We choose optimism. We choose to believe in the inherent goodness of life and the universe. We all have a story that brings us to this place. Let's be curious about each other and inquire. Please join us. Together we can make what seems impossible, POSSIBLE!

What Does NeuroEquity, AccessAbility Mean?

10/21/2024

What does NeuroEquity and AccessAbility mean? We each have our unique brainprint of strengths, challenges, and needs. I am grateful for the 21st-century workarounds that have evolved since my days in elementary, middle, and high school. It is my job as a neurodiverse educator to help families learn tools to navigate an education system that was not built for us. I work with students and their families to remove barriers so that they can make meaning of their learning. I then help them to access their ability so they can understand the strengths they possess. There is only one of each of us. Our most important mission is to learn about ourselves and why we are here. Our journey is the destination!

At 12 I knew that I was here to help every hurting child. How did I know this? It was an intuitive knowing that isn't understood in our culture. I learned that this was not something that you shared with others, but it added a layer to my depth of understanding about myself and guided me to my vocational path of service. All of my life experiences leading to becoming an educator and now an education problem solver provided my individualized learning plan.

In school, I would often look at the students next to me and wonder why it seemed to take me longer to understand new content than others. Test-taking caused panic attacks. I would spend hours memorizing for a test. Sometimes the information could not be accessed if I had to also remember the formulas. Sometimes I would be fortunate to remember what I studied, but then it would be gone the next day. I did not know about Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, Gifted, Twice-Exceptional, Executive Function, Processing Speed, Working Memory, etc... What I did know was that I learned differently. At the time, it made me feel horrible about myself. School was not the place where my academic strengths shined, but it was where I learned grit. I learned that while I may forget information that wasn't important to me, I could always look it up again if and when I ever needed it. My strengths that could be seen were in my interpersonal, intrapersonal communication, and leadership skills. My learning path required that I use those skills to play the game of school and make it work for me. Those skills then supported me in my work as a classroom teacher, teacher coach, district leader, and now in my work at Cope Consulting LLC.

Why would my intuitive heart voice lead me to the field where I had the most difficulty? I knew that helping hurting children was where I was supposed to be. What I now realize is that this knowledge about myself is what kept me from quitting! The obstacle is the way; education provides many layers of "learn by doing" opportunity! Facing fears and obstacles was the essential component of my step-by-step lesson plan for finding my voice in respectful advocacy for all stakeholders.

I have always leaned on Albert Einstein to provide inspiration and a guiding light when our world seems lost in the upside-down. These two quotes guide the conclusion of my message to you today. "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than everyone else." "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." I feel like our egos are making school education much more difficult than it should be. Living life no matter where you are on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is hard enough. Learning to navigate school and make it work for us is one of our many "learn by doing contexts" where we can strengthen our self-advocacy skills while also receiving support for our academic strengths and challenges. The most important overarching skills I have learned to ensure that we do well in life are:

Arrive on time,
Always try my best,
Listen to feedback because everyone is our teacher,
Ask for support/clarification in a respectful way

This led to my acronym of LAUNCH. Let's Access the Ability in ALL of our Learners! They will successfully Launch to independence because they have us! Together Everything is POSSIBLE!

#neurodiversity #neuroequity #education #removingbarriers
#zoneofproximaldevelopment #accessforall #thereisonlyoneyou
#allmeansall #problemsolving #universaldesignforlearning #bettertogether

The Zone of Proximal Development and Your Brainprint

9/2/2024

After many years of teaching, I understood that behavior fell apart when my students were not working in their Zone of Proximal Development, Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). Creating a Zone of Proximal Development for the diverse needs of the many levels of students in our classrooms is a daunting task, not for the faint of heart. This became clearer as we moved from No Child Left Behind (2002), where the arts were removed from our school day, to Common Core Standards that outlined a mythical roadmap to proficiency. I hope the next evolution of standards is not Ultimate Core.🙃The problem is that we aren't teaching a standard. We are learning humans who all have different needs. No one wins when we teach to a standard, and proficiency in a standard does not guarantee a successful launch 🚀 to independence. The learning humans we teach must be a part of this process to become confident in who they are and autonomous in navigating our world.

In 2020, I began exploring the idea that we all have a unique Brainprint, and the best way for us to move forward in education was to help each learner adult, teen, child to articulate their profile of strengths, interests, challenges, and needs. The next step is developing a toolbox of 21st-century workarounds to empower ourselves to solve problems independently. Todd Rose and Scott Barry Kaufman have dedicated their lives to redefining intelligence and the study of personalizing learning. Their research has been a guiding light for me and my practice as an education problem solver.

In 2022, I took a significant step towards promoting inclusivity in education by creating a lovelight that celebrates neurodiversity. When we look at the brain, we don't see skin color; we see an opportunity to engage in a conversation about our own human experience. By understanding our unique cognitive profiles, including our strengths, interests, challenges, and needs, we can learn to navigate any system and make it work for us.

In 2024, we can no longer be passive passengers on this life learning journey. We must become active collaborators. This happens when we get to know ourselves and learn to articulate our needs in respectful ways. The universe is asking us to dream big in education. I believe the first place to start is with sharing our unique brainprints of strengths, interests, challenges and needs!

In 2024 Everything is POSSIBLE with Cope Consulting LLC

1/11/2024

As I reflect on 2023, I could see all school stakeholders (youth, parents, teachers, support staff, district administrators, school boards and community leaders) ⚒️🧠🧠⚒️working tirelessly to the solve the puzzle of our education system's challenges🔍. The courageous work of collecting and connecting the puzzle pieces🧩 was the focus but some 🧩 pieces weren't fully understood. When this happens, our 🧠amygdala (the fear part of our brain) becomes activated, seeing the misunderstood pieces as a threat. We then go into a fight or flight response which doesn't enable the essential pieces 🧩 of the puzzle to connect, bringing the dream of our collaborative, team-inspired visions to fruition.

In 2024, lets embrace the acronym of TREE: Together Reaching Education Empowerment! Cope Consulting LLC can be your system translator, helping the 🧠amygdala to calm 💜so that all the puzzle pieces 🧩 can be understood. Then the work of assembling the pieces to bring a collective vision can happen. We are still healing from the trauma of the pandemic and calming our nervous systems requires a therapeutic rest where we simplify, focus and slow down.

The ego wants to go fast and fears that it is the only solution to problems that have been brewing since 1647. Meeting each challenge or obstacle with love is the way forward. There are no short cuts! Predetermination is not possible when assembling a collaborative vision! Unfortunately, there is no easy button! There is no accident that we are here at this moment in time. While the work won't be easy, believe progress is possible and know that it will continue for generations to come.🚀

Each of us holds a puzzle piece 🧩 to help our systems evolve, heal our world 🌎and make it a kinder, more compassionate place.💜 All the puzzle pieces can't and won't connect until our youth, parents, teachers, support staff, district administrators, school boards and community leaders nervous systems' calm and trust each other. 🙏🙏🏾🙏🏿 There will be no "I" in the system solutions that are to be created. The universe is trying to help us see that working together despite our differences is the only way.

As Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots looking forward, only looking backward. Then, you must trust how they will connect in your future."

Cope Consulting LLC has changed Steve Jobs' dots to stars ✨💫 ✨ as we are all on a rocket ship 🚀 to Abraham Maslow's Farther Reaches of Human Nature.

As we begin our 2024 launch 🚀, let’s first focus on caring for ourselves and each other so our puzzle pieces connect and make our collaborative, team-inspired education dreams a reality.💜🧠🧩💜🧠🧩

Together Everything is Possible!🌻

Connecting My Stars Through Maslow's Hiearchy of Needs

3/4/2023

We are each born to embark on our hero's journey. Most of us are unaware that we are on one, but we ALL are. At 12, I was fortunate to become aware of mine and knew my mission was to help every hurting child, but I was still lost as to understand what it all meant. I had noticed patterns and wondered how our world could be filled with so many inequities, which led to spending much of my youth struggling with anxiety and depression. I knew intuitively that I had to trust the journey, but when I tried connecting the dots before they were ready, I was filled with anxiety. I would listen over and over as Tears for Fears would sing, "Everybody wants to Rule the Word."

"Welcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behavior
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Everybody wants to rule the world."

The lyrics spoke to me. Tears for Fears put words to music that I also saw through my observations. What was this life about, and why must I endure so much suffering and pain? I wanted to turn back many times, but as Tears for Fears lyrics suggested, "Welcome to your life, there's no turning back." I knew that I had to trust that my learning journey would unfold as it was supposed to. Now I can connect my dots (stars) looking back and have learned that my life has been filled with all the lessons to help me realize my dream and fulfill my calling. I didn't have to do anything special, I just had to live and trust how my stars connect. Thich Nat Hahn shared, "No Mud, No Lotus." This is true for us all. The obstacle is the way, and the way is through. This is what life and learning here are all about.

Each path is differentiated for the learner and is connected to our family and the generations that lived before us. Maslow wrote about this in "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature." The needed support can be understood as we connect my stars through Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The journey is challenging for all. Different problems present themselves as we move through each level of the pyramid. There are times when trauma can move us back before we can move forward again.

It can be baffling to some that a child that is loved and cared for can sometimes need just as much support and understanding as a child without access to resources. An important thing to remember is we truly only know our journey. When I connected the stars for myself, my life was filled with challenges I had to overcome to be where I am today. Each obstacle was a layer that had to be focused on so that I could push forward and move through to the next while tying to notice and savor the bright spots along the way. As we move past a challenge, it gives us the confidence to tackle the next. I also believe that there is no accidental meetings. Every situation is mutually beneficial when we understand that everyone is our teacher. This process ensures that we are always learning though out our lifetime. This is something that we ALL have in common and that we can begin to see as we connect the stars to where we ALL are today.

Comparing one learning journey to another and saying that one was more difficult and needs more resources will never bring us all together. While the support may look different, the big idea is that every person desires for their child to be successful, and when a child is not thriving, a system of understanding and compassion must be present. Maslow's Hierarchy can be used to frame our very different journeys and look at them through a positive lens so we can better define the system of support that we provide.

I made this video in 2017 to explain my difficulty navigating the world as a neurodiverse learner. Going through these challenges helped me to become a better educator. My life learning journey has been all about facing each challenge layer by layer and gaining tools in my toolbox to be where I am today. While in school, I had many strengths that overshadowed my challenges. Although my family life was unstable, I had access to resources and love from my divorced parents, which I am grateful for. When I had my son whose challenges overshadowed his strengths in his early years, I finally understood why we need a comprehensive understanding of the educational supports that are provided for all levels of the pyramid.

At 44, I knew it was time to move through a new door. I reached the Esteem Needs level of the pyramid as a public educator, but when my son needed support to navigate the school system, along with my own two near-death experiences, forced me to think differently about a way to be true to my calling. I thought since I was so lucky to know my purpose that, this meant my needs were not important. This is where my ego got things wrong. Getting sick and my son needing more support were signs that there was another way for me. This led to leaving my beloved profession, focusing on my mental health and well-being, supporting my family, and creating services that I saw were needed within school systems for educators, parents, students, paraprofessionals, and managers. By taking this road less traveled, Cope Consulting LLC was born!

There can be no agenda if we are to truly help all members of the team to feel vulnerable enough to share their truth and contribute toward the problem-solving process. The amygdala, fearful voice of our brain, often creates disparaging stories of others that are very different from reality. This work takes focus, time, patience, love, and compassion. The problems that are coming forward need support from all stakeholders. It has taken 250 years for us to get here. While there is no easy button, if you look around, you can already see the glimmers of change.

I understand that in the current way we budget and allocate resources in education, it would appear that we don't have enough resources to support ALL. But I believe that if we work together, we can find ways to multiply and be more efficient with the resources we have. It isn't about more, it's about communication of what we have, explaining the resources that are available and removing barriers to access those supports when needed.

I will be 52 on March 12, 2023, and my stars ✨ have finally connected❣️We each have a special mission to accomplish on earth. 🌎 There is no accident that my mom named me after the character Dana Lambert, played by Lesly Ann Warren, in the 1970-1971 Mission Impossible television series❣️ I love that my earthly mission has been to help prove that the vision of advancing learning for ALL is Possible❣️ Our systems are breaking down so we can think differently and start rebuilding. Let's work together to dream about a future where we can help our youth self-actualize and travel to Reach the Farther Reaches of Human Nature❣️🚀 Together, Everything is POSSIBLE❣️

2023 TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

1/15/2023

January 15, 1929

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr.❣️
94, and we are finally ready to go through a new 🚪❣️
Make a wish. Our heavenly angels are rooting for us.
Together Everything is POSSIBLE❣️🔆 ☔️🌈🌎🔆

In 2023 NEURODIVERSE BRAINPRINTS UNITE to SOLVE SYSTEM CHALLENGES!

1/1/2023

Each of us holds a puzzle piece 🧩 within ourselves to help our systems evolve, heal our world 🌎 and make it a kinder, more compassionate place.💜

During 2023 we will begin the process of collecting and connecting the pieces🧩💞🧩 to bring our collaborative, team-inspired visions to fruition. Each piece contributed by ALL perspectives is an essential part of the puzzle.

Let’s dream big! It is time to start reimagining and rebuilding🛠️🧠💞🧠🛠️.

Together Everything is Possible!🌌

Our Heavenly Cheerleader, Chris Mitchell says, "It's finally time Go Big or Go Home!"

TREE: Together Reaching Education Empowerment

12/31/2022

As I reflect on one of the brightest spots of 2022, I can't help but be grateful for my best friend Analyn Stewart. We met at Shearer Charter School 25 years ago during the 1997-1998 school year. We were new teachers with a synchronous mission of supporting all students, especially those that were not understood or hurting. She served her mission through special education and I served mine through general education. Our paths united as we shared students and collaborated on ways that we could reach and teach them all.

In 2001, we both married our life partners. We wanted to have families, but weren't sure how we could do this with the demands of our work as educators. How could we raise resilient and healthy children when our classrooms required so much focus and care? We began the journey of learning how we would juggle the added demands by adopting our dogs, Mable and Drake. Mable Cope and Drake Stewart had playdates. Mable was passive, loving and aloof. Drake was intense, focused, and busy. Analyn and I noticed that the Mable and Drake were like many of the students in our classrooms. Each had a profile of strengths and challenges that made them look brilliant in one context and challenged in another.

In 2004, our own children arrived. We couldn't help but notice that we had been given children with personalities like Mable and Drake, but that the personalities had been reversed. Both loved to learn and enjoyed imaginative play. There was no sign of learning differences as newborns, but each had a profile of strengths and challenges that ended up needing support to move forward within the classroom. A 504 plan was needed for Analyn's daughter and a IEP was needed for my son. As educators we knew how hard it was to differentiate for all students and the reality of what kind of support could be provided in the classroom. Through the years, I leaned on Analyn to understand special education law and we collaborated on developing 504 plan accommodations. Becoming parents to children with special needs gave us empathy for the parents in all of our classrooms and the parents who sat across from us at 504 plan and IEP meetings. It also helped us to understand the importance of all team members and their unique perspectives in developing a plan to help children move forward within the classroom.

Today is December 31, 2022. Together We Reached Education Empowerment as our friendship, roots connected and children grew. Thank you Analyn Stewart for being my brightest spot of 2022!

THE POWER OF WE: GRATITUDE TO OUR VILLAGE OF EDUCATORS!

6/1/2022

It's Joyful June 1, 2022! As I reflect on our family's learning journey and all of the educators that have supported us, it is clear that there is no ME. It has always been WE! Maslow's quote says it all. Everyone is our teacher! Thank you to our village of educators for providing guidance, inspiration, encouragement, care, understanding, scaffolding, feedback, redirection and support. Our son is now ready to successfully launch to his next desired destination on his/our symbiotic life-long "learn by doing" path! It is incredible to see how many educators have touched one child's life from birth to high school graduation. Today we honor YOU! With collaboration, love, optimism, persistence, grit, resilience and faith, WE can make what seems impossible, POSSIBLE because Together Everything is Possible!

Jackson Roy Cope's Educator Village

Daycare School
Mama Elisa Alvarez
Mrs. Janis Daly and Mr. Mike Daly

Napa Valley Christian Preschool
Mrs. Boals, Mrs. Powers, Mrs. Kerruish

Beginning Swim Instructors
Coach Jessica Rennie
Coach Dennis
Coach Suzy

Reading Support
Mrs. Cathy Wallis and Mr. Jim Wallis
Barb Stoer
Carol Cooledge
Dr. Dan Peters
Dr. Michelle Freeman
Analyn Stewart
Ms. Alison Burns
Kristi Harris, OTR
Anne Schramm, Sylvan
Dr. Laura Ryan
The Amazing Sue Hattich
System 44
Connie Freed, SLP
Raj Kaur
Leslie Walder

Mt. George International Baccalaureate
Mrs. Chris Mitchell
Ms. Nan
Ms. Shaheeda
Support Staff
Custodial Staff
Mrs. Burt
Mrs. Imbach
Mrs. Morris
Miss Lynch (Ms. Thompson)
Mrs. King and Mrs. Miller
Mrs. Debbie Simpkins
Mrs. Hemming
Ms. Title
Mrs. Mitchell

Vichy Elementary School
Mrs. Scally
Office Staff
Custodial Staff
Support Staff
Adventure Time
Mr. Stephenson
Mr. Byrne
Mrs. Bunker
Mrs. Keiser
Mrs. Lloyd
Mrs. Dearden
Mrs. Ginette Ilsley
Mrs. Lorrie Ilsley
Mrs. Stewart
Mrs. Sue Hattich
Mrs. Bollinger
Michelle Marks

Silverado Middle School
Office Staff
Custodial Staff
Support Staff
Mrs. Kohl
Mrs. Brocker
Ms. Meyers
Mr. Sedgley
Ms. Caravantes
Mrs. Edwards
Mr. Burns
Ms. Kaufman
Mrs. Montmorency
Ms. Zmed
Ms. Wyman
Mrs. Scallaci
Ms. Wong
Mrs. Ford
Ms. Reid
Mrs. Kmiec
Coach Emberley
Coach Greene
Coach Medina
Mr. Guiducci
Mr. Daw
Mr. Cope
Mr. Albertazi
Mr. Kelly
LeighAnne Conklin
Michelle Marks

New Tech High School
Office Staff
Custodial Staff
Support Staff
Ms. Denise Plowman
Ms. Lovie (Summer College and Career Readiness)
Ms. Reilly
Riley Johnson
Ms. Winegarner
Ms. Wolf
Mr. McCarley
Mr. Wolf
Mr. Parsons
Ms. Wilson
Ms. Hale
Ms. Miller
Mike Coughlin
Stephanie Solberg
Alexander Shen
Marianna Thorne
Mike Mansuy

Napa High School
Office Staff
Custodial Staff
Support Staff
Ms. Claire Simpkins
Ms. Chapouris
Ms. Pat Martin
Ms. Petrie
Mr. Silva
Ms. Ready
Dr. Ainsworth
Mr. Lewis
Ms. Gauger
Ms. Andrilla
Ms. Sommers
Mr. Madigan
Mr. Urena
Ms. Drew
Ms. Denney
Mr. Kohl
Mr. Jenschke
Mr. Vanderschoot
Mr. Cook
Mr. Wessman
Mr. Mott
Ms. Miller-Hippf
Ms. Griffin
Mr. de La Fe Archoa
Ms. Harrington
Mr. Chatham
Ms. Proffitt
Mr. King
Mr. Gassner
Mr. Warrington
Mr. Gittings
Mr. Adams and Mr. Harris
Ms. Turjanis
Ms. Major
Mr. Fogarty
Ms. Toni McIntosh
Dr. Lorraine Crockford
Dr. Melanie Hayes

Vintage High School
Ms. Hannah Housley

United States Army
Sergeant Rodriguez
Sergeant Martin

Coaches and all support coaches!
Wine Country Swim Team
Wine Country Crossfit
NCOE ACE Track
Ms. Ward
Coach Moore
Coach Jones
Cross Country Support Coaches
Track Support Coaches
Coach Harris
Coach Franco
Wrestling Support Coaches
Coach Namnath
Coach Page
Swimming Support Coaches
Coach Khan
Water Polo Support Coaches

Cope Consulting LLC's 2022 Lovelight Celebrates Neurodiversity!

12/31/2021

Just like fingerprints are unique to an individual so is their brainprint. Our brains are wired to work differently helping our world to evolve and survive. We all have our own unique profiles of strengths, challenges, and needs. Some of us have strengths that overshadow our challenges and some have challenges that overshadow our strengths. Neurodiversity refers to the variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, and mood. Neurodivergent learners look like their neurotypical peers but have hidden learning differences, e.g. Autism, Gifted, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Epilepsy, Tourettes, Intellectual Disability, Sensory, Visual, Auditory Processing challenges, etc. These learning differences impact mental health and can prevent them from being fully understood by their peers, teachers, and families. Cope Consulting LLC helps you to embrace your sensitivities, get support for your unique profile of strengths and challenges, and empowers you to articulate your needs! What is your brainprint? YOU are here for an important reason! There is only one amazing YOU and our world needs YOU!