Skip to main content

Change can come in small steps.

What’s one thing you can do to further a culture of belonging?

The following video from Rob Pennington, Director of the Center of Excellence on Inclusive Practice introduces who we are and shares our mission.

Video: Welcome Video



The audio in this video describes all relevant visual information. Audio description is not needed for this video.


What is Audio Description (AD)?

When AD is enabled, descriptive language narrates what is on the screen. To learn more, visit our accessibility webpage.


Video Player Help

Kaltura Video Hosting: This website uses Kaltura, a video hosting company, to serve video content. If you are having difficulty viewing videos on this site, it may mean that your location (e.g., school district, organization) is blocking or filtering the Kaltura website. Please contact your IT personnel to resolve this issue.

Accessibility: We strive to make this website accessible for all users, including people with disabilities. We test and modify this website for optimal usability. If you have any accessibility questions or find any pages on our website that pose accessibility barriers, please contact support@ocali.org.


Captions / Transcript

You can access an interactive transcript for this video by selecting the Show Transcript icon in the top right corner of the video when you select play.

You can turn on captions by selecting the Enable Captions icon in the bottom right corner. Captions can also be turned on by selecting the Settings icon, where you can also set your caption preferences.

You can use Spanish subtitles for this video by selecting Settings and choosing Spanish in the Captions drop down menu.

Our Mission:

To support educational professionals in engaging high leverage and evidence-based practices that enable all learners to construct their own enviable lives as members of their self-selected communities.

Click each of the following boxes (or press return on the following headings) to understand the intentional language of our mission.

Educational Professionals

Teacher talking to a group of children

Teachers, paraprofessionals, related service providers, administrators, and teacher educators save lives. Therefore, they should be supported in continuous professional growth to better navigate increasingly complex school environments and implement the programs their students deserve.

Engaging

Professionals gathered around a table, working

There are well-established practices that can and need to be implemented in ways that facilitate increased inclusion and belonging.

Enviable Lives

Two people laying in the grass, laughing

All the people, regardless of their support needs, have the potential to construct lives that lift for others the expectations of what comprises a wonderful life.

Self-selected Communities

A few children painting

Inclusion is beyond the amount of time spent in a particular environment. It involves a sense of belonging achieved when people access and become members in the communities of their choice.

Our Staff:

Rob Pennington, PhD has over 30 years of experience in supporting individuals with a range of support needs, their families, and the professionals charged with serving them. He has served in a range of capacities including teacher, inclusion specialist, teacher educator, researcher, and in leadership roles across multiple organizations. In his spare time, Rob enjoys spending time with wife and rescue dogs, playing loud music, and sampling all the vegan restaurants. See Rob's Vita

Rachel Schultz, MA is the Project Coordinator for Inclusive Practice and Accessibility at OCALI. With over 20 years of experience working with people with disabilities, she is passionate about breaking down barriers and ensuring every student has the opportunity to learn, contribute and belong. In her free time, Rachel enjoys exploring historic mansions, going to the theater, playing board and video games, and swimming – all with family and friends.

When you help a teacher become their best, they're able to impact the lives of all those generations of students that will come through the door.

Hear Rob's Full Story

We need everybody at the table. We need everybody's voice...Seeing that in others really helps to understand and develop that empathy in order to personally and professionally care about people.

Hear Rachel's Full Story

You're not in this alone. Neither are we.

We continuously solicit feedback from our many connected communities.

We will be building an Advisory Board and network of compassionate and critical friends.

Receive center updates and newsletters

Large open envelope and letter with a small paper airplane

Let us hear your voice

Answer Some Questions

Large megaphone in background