Jane MacKenzie has worked with children having exceptional needs as a crisis worker and juvenile counsellor since age 20. She has a B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and a B.Ed., a Pre-M.Ed. specializing in diagnostic prescriptive resource and an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Manitoba. Jane has taught students ranging in age from nursery schoolers to adults over the past 40 years in a variety of regular, multi-age, alternative, and special education settings as a classroom teacher, special education resource teacher, counsellor, and teaching principal. She is a lifelong learner who takes additional courses, training and certification to increase her knowledge, deepen her understanding and improve her skills in how best to support staff, parents and students through the many educational challenges that arise daily in today’s complex classrooms. Jane finds that her most satisfying learnings are those which provide a wide range of perspectives upon which she can reflect and then select what is appropriate for her specific needs. As a result, her own educational communications tend to be research or evidence-based accompanied by a range of options wherever possible. Recent paradigm shifts that view behaviour as a form of communication and phonological skills as a necessary foundation to skillful reading are two of Jane’s current interests. She is director of an educational consulting business that advises parents on how to advocate for their children with exceptional needs. She has worked in the Winnipeg School Division on term contracts and will be providing some instruction for the University of Winnipeg’s PACE EADP. Jane feels that educational assistants play a vital role in helping teachers provide appropriate educational programming by helping students stay safe, regulated and engaged in their learning.