S.P.A.R.K. Award

    Our Vision & Mission

    We envision a time when all public schools welcome and successfully educate all students, regardless of their abilities or background. In order to achieve this goal, we empower NYC charter schools to develop high quality inclusive educational environments by providing professional development opportunities, resources, school-based guidance and access to local and national best practices and renowned special populations’ experts.

    History

    The Jeannine King S.P.A.R.K. (Special Populations Advocate, Relationship-builder, and Knowledge-Sharer) Award was established in honor of our beloved colleague, Jeannine King, who passed away in April 2023. Jeannine served as an Inclusive Education Specialist at the Collaborative and, prior to that, as a member of the Bronx Community Charter School community for 13 years, holding various positions in special education and leadership. She was a dedicated and passionate advocate for equitable and inclusive education for all children, generously shared her knowledge and experience with peers, and always encouraged thoughtful consideration of student perspectives and genuine relationship-building.

    Jeannine began each training she facilitated by sharing a quote from Dr. Chris Emdin: “True teaching is only effective when it triggers something that lasts forever or SPARKS a desire in the student to discover more beyond the classroom.”

    Through the S.P.A.R.K. award, we aim to honor Jeannine’s legacy by recognizing educators who embody the same traits and values of educational excellence and inclusion to which Jeannine dedicated herself with authenticity, generosity, and constancy. Nominations for our 2025 S.P.A.R.K. Award will open later this year.

    By the Numbers

    298

    More than 89% of the sector, or 298 charter campuses, are members of The Collaborative for Inclusive Education.

    140

    The Collaborative offers over 140 professional development workshops, trainings, conferences and webinars annually.

    2,200

    More than 2,200 educators, leaders and coaches attend the Collaborative’s programs each year.

    450

    The Collaborative team spends approximately 450 hours in schools each year, conducting classroom observations and providing one-on-one consultations.

    900

    The Collaborative has certified over 900 educators in crisis prevention.

    49

    The five Collaborative team members have a combined 49 years of experience in teaching special populations and leading school-based support programs.

    Our Evolution

    2011

    NYC Special Education Collaborative founded to support schools’ compliance-related needs.

    2012

    Developed differentiated supports through tiered levels of membership. Offered approximately 30 workshops a year.

    2013

    Team grew to enable school-based observations and consultations. Programs shift to supporting instruction and school-wide culture.

    2014

    Mission revised to focus on inclusive education. Brought small group of NYC charterss to visit inclusive schools across the country (LA and Boston).

    2015

    Advocacy resulted in $7.5M in support of Committees on Special Education for charters. Offered nearly 80 workshops a year, including new in-school workshops for teaching staff. Hired an ELL Specialist to offered compliance guidance.

    2016

    Collaborative expands programming to include ELL supports and social emotional workshops. Established communities of practice for high schools and counseling staff. Launched a Leadership Coalition for Special Populations.

    2017

    Focus shifts to include equity and culturally responsive teaching. Doubled the offerings and fully integrated ELL programming into the Collaborative schedule with over 100 PD opportunities.

    2019

    Name officially changes to the Collaborative for Inclusive Education. Programming includes opportunities for educators to unpack racism, ableism, language discrimination, and identity discrimination and to reflect on how anti-bias education intersects with inclusive education.

    2020

    We shifted along with our schools to online supports, hosting dozens of sessions on educating during a global pandemic.

    2021

    We expanded the number of membership levels we offer to respond to the diverse array of school needs.

    2022

    We offered over a hundred trainings and workshops in a hybrid format in response to the evolving post-COVID adult learning landscape.

    2023

    We created our annual S.P.A.R.K. award to honor the legacy of our late colleague Jeannine King.

    • Gissel Burgos
      Gissel Burgos
      2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    • Anyelis Taveras
      Anyelis Taveras
      2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    • Dawn Campbell
      Dawn Campbell
      2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    • Avery Hollander
      Avery Hollander
      2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    Gissel Burgos
    2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    Gissel Burgos
    2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner

    Gissel is an ENL teacher and teacher leader at Family Life Academy Charter Middle School in the Bronx. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York to immigrant parents from Colombia and the Dominican Republic. She has degrees in Childhood Education and T.E.S.O.L. and has been teaching and supporting ELL students for five years. In her S.P.A.R.K. nomination submission, Gissel was described as a “fierce advocate for ENL students” and a teacher leader who supports other staff by deepening their understanding of the challenges our ELL population face and ways to create nurturing and inclusive classrooms for all learners.” Take a look at Gissel’s blog series for insights into her work with MLLs/ELLs (Part 1 and Part 2).

    Anyelis Taveras
    2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    Anyelis Taveras
    2024 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner

    Anyelis has held several positions in her time with Brilla College Prep Charter School in the Bronx and this year is the Behavioral Specialist. In her role, she builds relationships with individual students and families to create inclusive and targeted behavior supports, as well as supports staff in implementing proactive behavior supports, both for individual students as well as school-wide policies and practices. In her S.P.A.R.K. nomination submission, Anyelis is “the heart and soul of our educational community when it comes to building relationships that champion equity and inclusion. Whether it’s providing tailored resources, advocating for inclusive policies, or simply being a compassionate listener, they’re always there, fighting for the rights and dignity of every student.”

    Dawn Campbell
    2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    Dawn Campbell
    2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner

    Dawn is a special education teacher at Bronx Community Charter School for the past 9 years and this year marks her first (and the school’s first) year in a 12:2 setting. She holds degrees from Lehman College and Bank Street and attributes her approach as an educator to being a mother of four children, individualizing and creating meaningful learning experiences for all young children. Her S.P.A.R.K. nomination submission relayed Dawn as “an inspiring role model for her students and colleagues…demonstrating a deep committed to social justice, advocating for and supporting students who are often marginalized” and working to “empower her students to think critically about issues of equity and justice.” Listen to podcast episode where we interview Dawn about how she fosters inclusive environments at her school.

    Avery Hollander
    2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner
    Avery Hollander
    2023 S.P.A.R.K. Award Winner

    Avery is the Dean of Multilingual Learning at East Harlem Scholars. Her experience spans multilingual learners of all ages, with a focus on instructional coaching and teacher training. She is committed to reimagining and building an educational landscape that is inclusive and meaningful for all learners. In her S.P.A.R.K. nomination submission, Avery was described as “an advocate for MLL students who works tirelessly to ensure that families are valued partners in their education…[is] valued by teachers, and is invaluable to the MLL program at her network.” Check out Avery’s blog post featuring some of her essential MLL/ELL practices.

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