About
Katie Novak is currently the Assistant Superintendent of the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District. With 14 years of experience in teaching and administration and an earned doctorate in curriculum and teaching, Katie designs and presents workshops both nationally and internationally focusing on teacher implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), multi tiered systems of support, and next generation skills. Some professional highlights and publications are below.
Professional Highlights
- Earned Ed.D. from Boston University in Curriculum and Instruction, K-12.
- Member of CAST’s Professional Cadre which is a premiere group that represents the broadest range of talent available for providing professional development in UDL.
- Selected by the Teaching Channel to be featured in a series of videos about teacher excellence.
- Teach face-to-face, hybrid, and online graduate level courses focused on Universal Design for Learning implementation. Exemplary evaluations in all courses.
Publications
- Author of best-selling book on inclusive education, UDL Now! A Teacher’s Monday Morning Guide to Common Core Implementation using Universal Design for Learning
- UDL in the Cloud with co-author Tom Thibodeau, published by CAST Professional Publishing.
- A Scene Shifter: Personalization Under UDL, School Administrator Magazine, November, 2015
- Universally Designed Leadership: Applying UDL to Systems and Schools with co-author Kristan Rodriguez, CAST Professional Publishing, September 2016
- Revised and Expanded Edition: UDL Now! Again: A Teacher’s Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning in Today’s Classrooms, CAST Professional Publishing, September 2016
Upcoming Presentations
- SPDG: Universal Design for Learning, Cleveland OH, September 12-13, 2016
- Region 5 SST, Ohio, September 29-30
- School District of La Crosse, Wisconsin: October 6, 2016
- Washington West Supervisory Union, VT: October 7, 2016
- Southern Local SD, Corning, Ohio: October 10, 2016
- Mt. St. Vincent College in Nova Scotia on Oct. 13 – 14, 2016**
- SPDG: Universal Design for Learning, Columbus OH, October 17-18, 2016
- Rowland Foundation’s Annual Statewide Conference for Middle and Secondary Schools, October 27, 2016**
- CESA #1, Pewaukee, WI: November 8, 2016
- Closing the Achievement Gap series in Cuyahoga County, OH: November 30-December 1
- Orange County Department of Education, December 7, 2016
- CESA #4, Wisconsin, February 16, 2017
- California Department of Education, Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee, February 23, 2017
- AHEAD, UDL Keynote in Dublin, Ireland, March 13, 2017
** denotes presentations given on behalf of my school district to supplement our professional development funds. You can learn more about this model by reading this article, publishing by the Nashoba Voice.
Presenter at the Following School Districts
- McGuffey School District, PA, August 22, 2016**
- Edison Local School District, Hammondsville, OH, July 28, 2016
- Carver Public Schools, May 13, 2016**
- UDL Rounds, Cesar Chavez High School, Houston, TX: April 14-15, 2016**
- YSC Academy, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2016**
- Dunbarton and Bow NH: March 8, 2016**
- Cohasset, MA: March 1, 2016
- School District of La Crosse, Wisconsin: January 26, 2016
- Carver Public Schools, Carver, MA: January 15, 2016**
- Central Maine Community College, Auburn, ME: November 12, 2015**
- Y.A.L.E. School, Cherry Hill, NJ: November 5-6, 2015**
- CESA #1, Pewaukee, WI: October 26, 2015
- Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District, MA: October 2, 2015
- Washington West School District, VT: September 4, 2015
- Colchester, VT: August 20, 2015
- South Burlington School District, VT: August 19, 2015
- Shore Collaborative Presentation, Chelsea, MA: November, 2014**
- West Hartford Public Schools, CT: October 15 and 24, 2014**
- Silver Lake Regional School District, Kingston, MA: August, 2014, 2015
- Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) UDL Institute: Columbus, IN: July 2013, 2014
** denotes presentations given on behalf of my school district to supplement our professional development funds.
Presenter at the Following Conferences/Workshops
- CESA#7, Wisconsin, August 29, 2016
- CAST Annual Symposium, Harvard University, August 8-10, 2016
- Puget Sound ESD Services Principal Leadership Academy, Washington, July 7, 2016
- Universal Design for Learning License to Learn: A European Perspective on UDL, Ghent, Belgium: June 28-29, 2016**
- Orange County Department of Education, Costa Mesa, CA: April 19-20, 2016
- Santa Barbara Department of Education, Santa Barbara, CA: April 21, 2016
- SPDG: Universal Design for Learning, Cleveland & Columbus, OH, February 22-25, 2016
- Santa Barbara Department of Education, Santa Barbara, CA: November 10, 2015
- “UDL and the Solar System,” CAST Annual Symposium, Wakefield, MA, August 2015
- “A Call for UDL in Higher Education,” Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) and New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC) Conference, Fairfield University: May, 2015
- Orange County Department of Education, Costa Mesa, CA: April, 2015
- “Universal Design for Learning: Tools for All Educators in Serving All Students,” Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators conference, Manchester, VT: November, 2014**
- UDL-palooza, Oakland, MI: November 6, 2014
- “Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” keynote presentation at ULearn conference in Rotorua, New Zealand: October, 2014
- “UDL Immersion Experience” keynote. UDL Summer Institute, Towson University, Towson, MD: June, 2014
- “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” for the UDL Strand at Center for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention and Expo: Philadelphia, PA 2014
- “Harnessing the Power of ECET2” at Elevating and Celebrating Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference hosted by the Gates Foundation, Snowbird, UT: February, 2014
- “Transforming Teaching: One Story at a Time,” as a member of the Teacher PR Corps at Social Media Week in NYC: February, 2014
- “Sharing Common Core Standards with Students” at Elevating and Celebrating Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference hosted by the Gates Foundation, LaJolla, CA, 2013
- Teacher panel presenter at NBC Education Nation, NYC, 2013
- “Universal Design,” model lesson and webinar sponsored by Jobs for the Future (JFF) through the US Department of Education’s School Turnaround Learning Community, an online community of practice, Boston, MA, 2013
- “Conquering the Core” keynote presenter and “Common Core Narrative Writing the UDL Way,” presenter at Massachusetts Common Core Conference, hosted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and UMass Boston, 2013. Won an award for best presentation and overall excellence in teaching.
- “Teacher Core Revolution” presenter. National Teacher Voice convening, hosted by the Gates Foundation, Washington, DC, 2013
- “UDL Immersion Experience” at Harvard University’s UDL Summer Session, Boston, MA, 2012, 2013
** denotes presentations given on behalf of my school district to supplement our professional development funds.
Presenter in the Following Webinars
- Understood.org, Universal Design for Learning 101, June, 2016
- Office of Special Education Programs, Washington DC, State Personnel Development Grants (SPDGs) webinar, June 2016
- “How to Implement Universal Design for Learning” webinar, NZ Catholic Education Office, Wellington, New Zealand, June 2015
- “UDL and Common Core Standards Webinar,” Minnesota Department of Education, April, 2015
If your school district is moving toward adopting or implementing the UDL framework, multi-tiered systems of support or next generation skills, contact me so we can discuss your professional development needs. My keynotes, presentations, and webinars are energetic, engaging, and anything but typical. I promise.
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