Special Education Professional Learning Services

Gail Adams is an Educational Services Consultant with CORE. Gail is a veteran educator with more than 35 years experience in general and special education as a teacher, reading specialist, and program specialist. In addition to working for the Poway Unified School District, Gail has served as an educational consultant for the San Diego County Office of Education and the North County Professional Development Federation. As such, she was a contributing author and trainer for materials developed under two California reading grants. In addition, Gail is a nationally certified trainer for several intervention programs, including Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching, Read Well, Read Naturally and REWARDS. She is co-author of three intervention programs: The Six Minute Solution: A Reading Fluency Program, Words for Academic Writing: Vocabulary Across Curricula, and eSolution: Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension.

Beverly A. Jagla has been an Educational Services Consultant with CORE since 2003. She holds a Master of Education degree in special education from Central Washington University and received her Superintendent’s Credentials from Seattle Pacific University in 1995. Her teaching experiences include first grade, special education (K–6), gifted and talented (1–6), work in the British Primary Schools near London, and over 20 years as an adjunct professor with Central Washington University in its Teacher Education program. She was an elementary principal for 12 years in a K–5 school and an Assistant Superintendent for 13 years, working with curriculum, instruction, and professional development. Beverly has also served as an Acting Superintendent.

Sewellyn Kaplan is an Educational Services Consultant with CORE. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Riverside with a dual major in Spanish and English, and her master’s degree in Learning Disabilities from California State University, East Bay. She also holds an Administrative Credential in the State of California. Between degrees, Ms. Kaplan was a teacher and then the owner of a folk-art store (for 13 years), giving her a strong sense of entrepreneurship. In public education, she worked as a high school literacy coach for a large urban school district where she implemented all reading interventions and monitored the implementation of the Response to Intervention strategies. As a Special Education teacher, Ms. Kaplan also spent eight years teaching all students in an inclusive alternative high school setting. Her focus was on reading instruction. During that period, she received numerous awards, including Teacher of the Year, the Humanitarian Award, and the Warren W. Eukel Teacher Trust Award. Lastly, Ms. Kaplan was an Assistant Principal/Instructional Specialist at a large urban high school tasked with implementing all English Language Arts and mathematics curricula and working closely with teachers to improve instruction.

In all roles, she has been instrumental in developing and delivering professional development. Of particular note in education is her experience in both learning differences and very diverse populations of students, enabling her to offer teaching strategies for all populations.

In her career with CORE, she has had the opportunity to work with all grade levels, K-12, in implementing and assessing a wide variety of literacy programs, with an emphasis on supporting access to growth for all students. She has led trainings in vocabulary development, fluency, writing, and reading strategies. In the past few years, she has also had the opportunity to work with elementary school teachers, again with a focus on literacy.

In her numerous roles, Ms. Kaplan has worked closely with both teachers and students to ensure success and a love of learning that will endure a lifetime.

Teresa M. Roeder has a long and distinguished history with CORE. She worked as a full-time consultant during CORE’s developmental period, helping to create CORE’s services and products and is presently an Educational Services Consultant. Ms. Roeder returned to her school district, San Ramon Valley in California, where she worked in the Office of Instruction and Assessment, responsible for professional staff development districtwide, curriculum development, and implementation of the K–3 Assessment Plan aligned with a standards-based reporting system; served on the District Assessment Team; was the K-12 District Inclusion Specialist; and most recently assumed a position at the high school level as a teacher of English and a Resource Specialist for students identified as dyslexic for participation in special education. She has served in the capacity of a Teacher Leader, Mentor Teacher, and districtwide new teacher coach and Literacy Specialist, providing professional staff development in general education and special education in grades K–12. Further, Ms. Roeder has served as an instructor in the Reading Certificate Program for the University of California, Berkeley.