You became an educator to make a difference, but all of your efforts to create a more welcoming school culture don't seem to be making the difference you hoped for.

You’re still experiencing…

• Frustration due to staff and administrative resistance to inclusion
• Lack of respect and dignity for students with disabilities
• A sense that you are failing your students
• Lack of a sense of belonging of students with disabilities
• A fear that you will never be able to make that difference you have passionately worked toward

Your students with disabilities deserve to have the dignity and respect that other students receive.

And you know it.

Hey there, I’m Diana.  I’m a teacher in elementary and higher education, an author, speaker, and proud sibling advocate! 

After watching my brother, Joaquin, endure segregated education all his life and then being institutionalized, and seeing all the horrific things he went through, I fought for years to bring him home.

After the years of fighting, I knew things had to change!

I started my teaching career as a general ed teacher, then taught special ed for a few years, and then crossed back over to general ed with the commitment to demonstrating how inclusion can work. I knew that I needed to create an inclusive classroom, one where ALL kids were welcome and where they all learned together. I wanted to ensure that no child would ever have to endure what my brother and our family lived through.

So, I dove in! I passionately protected the right to inclusive education, aka “least restrictive environment,” for all of my students. But I also thought that I needed to educate my school community with some good old-fashioned disability awareness. I did what I had been taught and what I had seen modeled: disability simulations, puppet shows,  and inspirational stories. I did this for several years, hosting elaborate school-wide events. 

Unfortunately, the results weren't what I was hoping for. Instead of creating inclusive mindsets, I was creating more pity, apathy, and separation.

Something was missing. I was on a mission! I needed to find a way to maintain dignity and respect for those with disabilities, while empowering our school with an understanding of social justice as it relates to people with disabilities.

The answer came to me when I started teaching a Disability Studies course through San Diego State University. In my research and preparation, I learned about two of the main disability models - the medical model and the social model - and the difference that distinguishing between the two can make. This knowledge completely shifted my focus and my disability awareness strategies.

I took what I was teaching at SDSU and started incorporating it into my elementary classroom and school. This is when I began to see a huge change!

I had always seen my own students being kind and inclusive. But I started to see other students on campus advocate for their peers with disabilities. And my own colleagues, who had previously resisted inclusion, were much more open to inclusive possibilities!

I took what I was doing in my classroom schoolwide, drawing attention from other schools and school districts. I even received the honor of Teacher of the Year at my school, two awards from the California PTA, and a Challenge Coin from my district superintendent because of my Beyond Awareness work. My school culture completely changed. There is an expectation of school wide respect for all students, a general spirit of kindness and diversity appreciation, and a desire to be more inclusive.

I'm now on a mission to bring my Beyond Awareness Movement to classrooms and schools around the world!