The Practical Guide to High-Leverage Practices in Special Education

Dr. Ruby L. Owiny is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she primarily teaches courses in single subject research methods and methods of teaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders, along with classroom and behavior management, with a focus on applied behavior analysis. Prior to her work at Minnesota State, Dr. Owiny was an Associate Professor at Trinity International University and the Director of the Division of Education. While at Trinity, she also designed and directed the Access Program, which supported students with autism as they completed their bachelor's degree. Dr. Owiny believes everyone deserves to be an accepted, contributing member of their community, starting at school. This drives her professional research of inclusive education. She examines how teacher preparation programs prepare teacher candidates to implement Universal Design for Learning, High-Leverage Practices, and evidence-based practices. She has 13 years of public school teaching in Title I elementary schools in both general and special education, providing instruction in multiple teaching roles and service delivery models. She has experience consulting around the United States and in four other countries, training teachers in co-teaching and inclusive practices, such as embedding specially designed instruction into instruction in the general education classroom, Universal Design for Learning, instructional strategies, and behavioral interventions. She enjoys meeting teachers to learn about the impact they have on their students, particularly the ways they seek to meaningfully include students with disabilities and effectively provide instruction to improve post-secondary outcomes.

She is a Past President of the Teacher Education Division, and has served on multiple committees and workgroups for the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Owiny has been active in the Teacher Education Division caucus, Small Special Education Programs Caucus (SSEPC), for several years and, in 2022, was honored with the Nasim Dil Service Award for Outstanding Service to Teacher Education in Small Special Education Programs. She is currently chairing the workgroup that prepares resources to support student teachers who participate in the Student Teacher Support Network. She is a frequent manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Special Education Preparation, Educator Perspectives Journal, and Teachers Connecting to Advance Retention and Empowerment (TCARE). Dr. Owiny also frequently reviews books for SLACK Incorporated and Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.
In her limited free time, Dr. Owiny enjoys scrapbooking to chronicle the life of her family. She loves traveling, especially visiting her in-laws in Tanzania. Her favorite activities are being a basketball, lacrosse, baseball, and band mom for her three children. She cannot get enough of the outdoors. She takes every chance she can to camp, hike, bike, snowshoe, and enjoy a good book on the beach.

Dr. Kyena E. Cornelius is a Clinical Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida. She primarily teaches and advises students in the online EdD program. This program aligns with Dr. Cornelius' passion of developing expert practitioners who are truly scholarly professionals. Prior to moving to Florida, Dr. Cornelius was an Associate Professor of Special Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she taught courses for initial licensure programs and served as the College of Education's Accreditation Coordinator. It was through this work that she developed her interest in teaching standards and the need for common language in our field, driving her research and professional goals to elevate the teaching profession.

Dr. Cornelius travels the country providing professional development for in-service teachers on the High-Leverage Practices, co-teaching, and formative assessment. She is the President Elect of the Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and currently co-leads a national workgroup commissioned by CEC for special education teacher recruitment. She is on the editorial boards and frequently reviews manuscripts for two journals: the Journal of Special Education Preparation and Rural Special Education Quarterly. She is also the co-editor for TEACHING Exceptional Children.

When Dr. Cornelius is not traveling the country for work, she is traveling to visit her children and grandchildren who live in Virginia. If she is not traveling, you can find her in the kitchen pursuing her other passion-baking. She not only bakes, she bakes with spirits, and often contemplates starting a new career/business of Kyena's Boozy Bakery.