Conversations by IEP Assure

From Burnout to Belonging: Jessica Semeta on Compassion, Connection, and Supporting Today’s Educators In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure , Allie Wilson, founder of IEP Assure, sits down with Jessica Semeta, a 19-year veteran special education teacher and creator of Compassion in the Classroom , to talk about one of the most important—and often overlooked—aspects of education: compassio...

Your district has a culture. Your campuses have a culture. But what about the families you serve? In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure, Allie Wilson talks with Nancy Shapiro Rapport, a middle school counselor with a 34-year career and co-creator of Our Family Culture. Nancy shares how intentional family culture can strengthen the partnership between homes and schools, and why students sh...

When a parent brings an advocate to the IEP meeting, does your team feel supported or under attack? In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure, Allie Wilson sits down with Dr. Destiny Huff, LPC, a mental health therapist, special education advocate, and parent of two neurodivergent learners. Together they explore how IEP teams can move from shifting blame to solving problems together, even in...

What if the biggest challenge facing special education isn't funding—it's the systems surrounding it? Allie Wilson and Christina Santoro discuss inclusion, staffing shortages, teacher burnout, compliance, and how school leaders can create sustainable change that supports both students and educators. School leaders everywhere are facing the same challenges: growing special education needs, staffing...

By middle school, many students have already started to disengage from their education—not because they can’t learn, but because they don’t understand themselves as learners. In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure , Allie Wilson is joined by Marjorie Archer to unpack what’s really happening during those critical middle school years. From students hiding their struggles to avoiding accommod...

In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure , Allie Wilson sits down with Peter Kauffman to unpack the legal foundations of special education compliance. With experience spanning teaching, school governance, and education law, Peter provides a rare, full-system perspective on how compliance actually functions—and where it breaks down. This conversation focuses on helping educators, administrato...

In this episode, Allie sits down with Eric Roma , the Chief Technology Officer of IEP Assure , to officially introduce him to the community and share the story behind how the platform is being built. Eric has been part of IEP Assure from the very beginning and formally transitioned into the CTO role in November. Together, Allie and Eric discuss what it takes to build special education software res...

In this episode, Allie and Joe explore what it really means to adapt your work to your needs — not the other way around. Rather than chasing more tools or faster fixes, they talk through the mindset shifts educators and leaders need to make, how to identify where automation can genuinely help (and where it shouldn’t), and how to build systems that support sustainability instead of burnout. They di...

In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure, Allie Wilson sits down with special education advocate and educator Mantha Camacho to discuss the real challenges educators face when supporting students with disabilities. Together, they explore what it actually looks like to implement IEPs in real classrooms, the pressure teachers experience when balancing compliance with meaningful instruction, an...

What if the support a student needs isn’t another intervention—but a different environment? In this episode of Conversations by IEP Assure , host Allie Wilson sits down with Alicia Powell , an educational leader with experience in both traditional public schools and a private school model built around personalized, one-to-one learning. Together, they explore how learning environments shape student...

In this episode of  Conversations by IEP Assure , host  Allie Wilson  sits down with  Nicholas Ditto , founder of Fort Worth STEAM Academy and her very first principal, to talk about what it  really  takes to make STEM accessible for every learner—not just the ones already “on level.” Together, they unpack: The mindset shift from “Why aren’t they passing?” to “How do we get them there?” How belief...

Allissa Clark Educational Diagnostician | Learning Advocate | Founder of Opportunity Consulting Allissa Clark is an educational diagnostician on a mission to help families and schools truly see their learners. As the founder of Opportunity Consulting, Allissa brings a vibrant, student-centered approach to evaluations—turning complex data into clear stories about how kids learn, thrive, and grow. W...