Sean J. Smith, Ph.D.

Sean is an educator, teacher educator, author, national consultant, national presenter, scholar, and most important, the father of four wonderful children. Called to teaching after graduating from Providence College and the support/influence/direction of the Dominican Fathers, Sean has worked with classroom teachers, educational leaders, families, and countless other stakeholders to further inclusionary opportunities across our preK-12 public and private schools. He is a former K-12 general and special educator and at present works as a Professor in Special Education at the University of Kansas to prepare current and future general/special education teachers to foster inclusive learning environments for ALL learners.

Collaborating with educators, families, and a variety of other stakeholders, Sean has designed, developed, and implemented a number of technology-based products and educational solutions. Most recently, this is the VOISS app which is a Social Emotional Learning Curriculum that features 140 learning scenarios developed to assist children understand and begin to apply social emotional strategies within today’s increasingly complex world. He also serves as the Principal Investigator to a federally funded project that seeks to infuse effective writing practices with data-based decision making to further writing outcomes for struggling learners and their peers with disabilities. See the Writing Classroom for more information about our Progress Monitoring Tool and support for instructional coaches and teachers.

Being the parent of a son with Down syndrome (who just completed the University of Kansas Transition to Post-Secondary Education Program) has made a significant impact on his work and life. For example, Sean currently serves as the President of the National Down Syndrome Congress (see ndsccenter.org) which is the largest family-centered organization in the world seeking to improve the outcomes for individuals with Down Syndrome while supporting their family members, educators, and other critical stakeholders. The highlight for the NDSC is its annual convention bringing together over 3,000 individuals with Down syndrome, their family members, professionals, and other stakeholders to an annual meeting (2024 will be in Phoenix).

Additionally, Sean has been providing coast-to-coast professional development, program evaluation, coaching, and consultation in Catholic schools for more than 20 years. In 2015, Sean assisted in developing the Program for Inclusive Education (PIE) in the Notre Dame Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI) which serves cohorts of Catholic educators across the country in a hybrid delivered 18 credit hour graduate program. Focused on providing effective practices to facilitate the inclusion of all of God’s children in our preK-8 and 9-12 Catholic schools across the country, Sean continues to work closely with Michael to develop, deliver, and evaluate the PIE program with colleagues at the University of Notre Dame.
Sean is committed to bring effective practice into our instructional, behavioral, and social emotional efforts to meet the needs of all learners. This effort is illustrated in the 200 plus articles, book chapters and books and/or the hundreds of presentations/workshops/keynotes he has conducted for schools, districts, dioceses, parent groups, state educational agencies, and countless other stakeholders across the country and throughout the world. Likewise, external funding exceeding over 30 million dollars has allowed him to work with collaborators in the research, development, and implementation of effective practices and innovative tools to support the ongoing inclusion of all learned in the preK-12 classroom.