Meet Lisa Earle: Longtime education staffer now leads West Regional Partnership Center
Meet Lisa Earle: Longtime education staffer now leads West Regional Partnership Center
A familiar face in special education in the region, Lisa Earle, has taken charge of the West Regional Partnership Center.
The center is part of the NYSED Office of Special Education’s Educational Partnership network. The work of the center’s approximately 15 staff members includes providing school districts training, coaching and technical assistance as they work with special education students.
“We’re all going in and working in a collaborative way and we’re seeing those outcomes shift for students,” Earle said.
Earle, the systems change facilitator for the program at the Western New York Regional Information Center (WNYRIC), has previously worked in the region for 15 years as a transition specialist. Her work experience also includes time as a special education teacher for the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District. Stepping into the new role, Earle said she found inspiration in the dedication of her staff.
“They really believe in the work,” Earle said. “We’re all in this to help the students.”
Earle entered the new role following the retirement of Susan Locke-Scott. Earle said she appreciated the leadership she saw in Locke-Scott, who she described as her mentor.
“She was amazing,” Earle said, “She developed a great team here at the center.”
Among Earle’s goals in the new role are to expand the reach of the center’s training activities to reach more teachers and administrators. She said participants of the cost-free training courses are able to walk away with practical solutions for the challenges they face, and noted participants’ feedback can be shared with state-level education officials to benefit their work.
“It’s very rewarding,” Earle said. “When we can change the practices for one teacher, we see the benefits for their current students, as well as the students they may work with in the future.”
For more information about the West Regional Partnership Center and its training activities, visit https://www.e1b.org/en/instructional-support/special-education-support.aspx.