About Me

Disability is simply another demographic but it is the only demographic we try to "fix". Dis as a prefix that negates the root word and it means "not" or "none".  So that implies no ability or some other negative connotation which pushes us to try to think about fixing it. We do not need to fix people with disabilities. We need to fix the mindset of all people and adjust environments to be more accessible to more people, regardless of demographic.

Hi! I am Angie Chapple. For as long as I can remember I have been an advocate, teacher, sibling, friend, and consultant to and for individuals with disabilities.  I have been around for a long time and have seen and experienced many changes in laws, services, rights, attitudes, beliefs and ideals about people with disabilities. 

I am a sibling to David, my younger brother of 5 years, who happens to have cerebral palsy. I taught in public school at a time where segregating students with disabilities was the norm and widely accepted and preferred by just about everyone involved--except maybe the students because no one really asked them or helped to be able to voice their opinions. I was also a central office special education administrator in a large urban public school district. I am an adjunct at two Ohio universities where I teach various education classes to pre service teacher candidates. I am also an educational consultant in Ohio at a regional educational resource center where I get to work with teachers, administrators, families and other staff at schools and districts in my region of northeast Ohio. I have been a sibling for 53 years (and counting), and an educator/consultant for close to 35 years.

I love being a consultant and being able to work with, assist, coach, and encourage various service providers about how to improve service provision and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.  I do not claim to have all the answers but I am persistent and passionate and willing to do whatever it takes to find the solutions  to whatever barriers are preventing individuals with disabilities from achieving at high levels, graduating high school ready to take on adulthood and find a sense of community and belonging in every environment. 

I am available to provide coaching and consultation for school teams regarding special education.  I can also provide professional development on topics such as IEP and ETR compliance, connecting IEPs and Specially Designed Supports Services to the general curriculum, how to determine appropriate specially designed instruction, accommodations and modifications, progress monitoring, data gathering and analysis, district and school data analysis and decision making, writing compliant and quality documents, compliant and quality transition planning, and many other topics upon request.

Work experience

I began my education career in 1989 as a pre school assistant teacher for Head Start in Cleveland. I was assigned to a site that had several children attending with various disabilities. I had not yet finished taking the coursework I needed for my teaching license but they hired me based on my experience...and I was only a couple classes from finishing. 

Once I officially received my license in 1991, I went on to teach in the Cleveland Municipal School District at MLK High School.  My licensure is for Moderate to Intensive Intervention Specialist (though at the time of issuance it was "Education of the Handicapped-Multi-Handicapped K-12"). My classroom was a segregated class intended for students with multiple disabilities. 

After teaching for 11 years, I was asked to move to a central office role so I became the Program Manager for Low Incidence Disabilities for middle and high school and Transition Services. I was also the ESY coordinator, Alternate Assessment coordinator and Special Equation Liaison to the Homeless Office.

After 3 years as a Manager, in 2005, I moved to a Regional Special Education Resource Center. Within a couple of years, the statewide educational structures changed in Ohio, so the resource centers changed as well. Our offices were now called State Support Teams (SST).  There are 16 SSTs around the state. I started in region 8 and then moved to region 3 in 2009 and I am still there today.

I am also an adjunct professor in the college of Education at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio (since 2012) and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2021) and Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio (since 2011)where I teach various education courses to pre-service teacher candidates. 

I am a certified Charting the Life Course Ambassador and an Ohio regional Data Lead for Data to Serve Exceptional Children.

Throughout my years in education I have provided, among other things, support to all schools and districts in my region regarding special education.  That support can be coaching, professional development, or technical assistance. The "Consulting Services Available" page on this website lists the types of PD, TA and Coaching I can provide.

Education

I earned my undergraduate degree in Biology from Cleveland State University (CSU) in 1986. I then earned my Masters is in Curriculum and Instruction also from CSU (1993) as well as my initial teaching licensure (1991-Moderate to Intensive Intervention Specialist).

I earned my Reading Specialist Endorsement from John Carroll University in 2008 and my Literacy Specialist Endorsement from Youngstown State University in 2009.

Articles and Published Works

How to Foster Student Self-Advocacy in IEP Meetings 

https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-particpation-iep-meetings

How to Nurture a Sense of Belonging for Students With Disabilities

https://www.edutopia.org/article/sense-belonging-students-disabilities