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Mary Jo Dare |

Senior Advisor

Professional Experience

Mary Jo Dare works with B&D Consulting to provide strategic compliance services to school districts at the local, regional and state levels. She also works closely with and supports our school and education lawyers at Baker & Daniels LLP.

Mary Jo is a 30-year veteran of special education and former Assistant Superintendent for Academic Affairs in Indianapolis Public Schools, one of the nation's largest school districts. She served in a variety of administrative positions with IPS, including 18 years as Director of Special Education/Student Services. Mary Jo has chaired or directed a number of committees on the writing and implementing of manuals, procedures, programs, reorganizations and reviews. She directed a committee to write and implement procedures for a multidisciplinary evaluation team, which was presented to the National Council for Exceptional Children.

Mary Jo's expertise in special education extends to academia, where she currently is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In addition to master's and doctorate degrees in education, Mary Jo received a certificate in learning disabilities and emotionally handicapped in 1977 and a director's license in special education in 1986, both from Butler University.

Honors

• Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education – Exemplary Service Award, 2006
• Indiana University – Dean F. Berkly Emerging Leadership Award, 2004

Professional Associations

• Gallahue Mental Health – Advisory Board
• Young Audiences – Advisory Board
• Indiana Special Education Administrator's Service – Executive Board
• Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education – Executive Board, State Secretary
• Indiana School for the Deaf – Board Member
• Indianapolis Scecina High School – Board Member
• Department of Mental Health – Planning Committee

Memberships

• St. Simons Catholic Church

Publications

• "Disciplining Students with Disabilities," co-author with Amy Steketee and Allison Fetter-Harrott, District Administration, March 2009
• "Boosting Inclusion for Students with Disabilities," co-author with Amy Steketee and Allison Fetter-Harrott, District Administration, September 2008
• "Transporting Special Needs Students," co-author with Amy Steketee and Allison Fetter-Harrott, District Administration, June 2008
• "Partnerships in Systems of Care: An Early Intervention Pilot Project with Education," co-author, Journal of At-Risk Issues, 2006
• "The Full Purpose Partnership: Integrating Systems of Care and Positive Behavior Supports in Schools," co-author, Families, Schools, Community Partnerships Newsletter, 2005
• "The Urban Education Inquiry Project," co-editor, Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2005
• "Indianapolis Public Schools Blazes Trails for School-Based System of Care," co-author, Urban Perspectives, 2003

Presentations

• "The Full Purpose Partnership: A Schoolwide Model Integrating Systems of Care, Positive Behavior Supports and Learning Principles," co-presenter, Urban Education Collaborative, Indianapolis, 2005
• "Developing School-Based Systems of Care" and "Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Emotional Disturbances and Their Families," co-presenter, Georgetown Training Institute, San Francisco, 2004
• "Education: A System of Care Partner – Effective Strategies for Serving Youth with Serious Emotional Disorders and Their Families," co-presenter, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Portland, Ore., 2003