April is Autism Awareness Month, and edWeb.net is especially thankful to announce that STAGES Learning will be the new sponsor of Teaching Students with Autism, a free professional learning community on edWeb that provides ideas and resources for teachers working with students with autism. The community has nearly 30,000 members and has been an important resource for educators for many years, providing free professional learning edWebinars and support, especially during the pandemic.

STAGES Learning hosted their first edWebinar for the community on March 28th, “Behavior in the Classroom: Set Yourself up for Success Working with Students with Autism,” and it has already been viewed by more than 2,500 educators. Frankie Kietzman, Ed.S., Special Education Teacher, and Rachel Emmer, Teaching & Learning Ambassador, presented information on several preventative classroom/behavior-management strategies for all levels that can be used while working with students with autism to make the classroom a safe and positive environment for everyone. The recording is available here. STAGES Learning will continue to present helpful edWebinars for the community all year long and provide additional free resources.

Lisa Schmucki, the founder and CEO of edWeb.net, commented, “Our autism community is one of the first communities we created on edWeb.net. Over the past 10 years, we’ve hosted over 120 edWebinars that have been viewed over 250,000 times. There is such a need for professional learning help for special ed teachers, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and all educators who work with students with autism. We are so delighted that STAGES Learning is taking on the leadership of this community. It’s been great to get to know Angela Nelson, the founder, and her wonderful team and their passion for creating exceptional resources for teachers and students.”

Angela Nelson, the founder and CEO of STAGES Learning, commented, “I am so excited that STAGES will be supporting this vibrant network of educators who have dedicated their lives to creating the best opportunities for learners on the autism spectrum. Special educators have worked so hard over the past couple of years to mitigate learning loss for these students, who already face so many challenges. We look forward to being a part of everything that edWeb is doing to create top-quality professional learning opportunities.”

Educators are invited to join the Teaching Students with Autism community.