REGISTRATION OPEN!
We are pleased to present our 2025 Educators Forum, The Power of Belonging: Building Stronger Schools Together, on Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
At the MDSC, we recognize that supporting students with complex learning profiles requires ongoing training and professional development for educators and school leaders. This full-day conference is designed to provide general and special educators, administrators, paraprofessionals, support professionals, and parents with practical workshops led by experts in the field of educating students with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The workshop program will highlight the goals, challenges and solutions to ongoing issues facing education professionals each day as they work to provide meaningful inclusive educational opportunities for students in all educational settings.
2025 Breakout Sessions:
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Across All Environments: Empowering Communicators Everywhere
- Bridging the Gaps: Navigating the Transitions from Early Intervention, to Preschool, and Kindergarten
- Creating Schools and Classrooms where Everyone Belongs
- Designing Successful Transitions into General Education Classrooms for Students with Intellectual and other Developmental Challenges
- From Text Maps to Memory Caps: Creating On-The-Spot Supports in Inclusive Classrooms
- Leveraging AI to Develop Instructional Activities for Students with Down Syndrome
- Understanding Behavior to Promote Positive Outcomes
- We’re on the Same Team: Building Collaboration and Family Engagement to Support Students with Disabilities
- Specially Designed Instruction and IEP Modifications: Practical Strategies for Supporting Students
Registration:
- Educators & Other Professionals: $275 early bird special
- MDSC Parents/Caregivers: $175 early bird special
If you would like to make a payment via check or Purchase Order, please enter code CHECKPO and email purchase orders to ecrowley@mdsc.org
Professional Development:
- Educators in attendance will earn 6 PDPs!
MDSC Outstanding Educator Award
Each year MDSC honors individuals or organizations who have celebrated the rich accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. The MDSC Outstanding Educator Award is presented to an educator in Massachusetts who has significantly contributed to ensuring that students with Down syndrome are given every opportunity to maximize their full potential. When nominations are open in advance of the Ed Forum, we invite members of our community or general public to submit their nomination for an educator deserving of the Outstanding Educator Award.
Nominations for the 2025 Outstanding Educator Award will be opening soon! Learn more about all our awards on our Awards page. If you have any questions, please email awards@mdsc.org.
