Special Education Consultant, Behavior Support Specialist, and Certified Life Skills Coach
Ms. Kayes brings 18+ years of experience working in many diverse public school systems across the country, teaching special education in a variety of K-12 school settings, including self-contained, general education, and Autism classrooms. As a respected consultant, she has extensive knowledge about the special education referral and eligibility process, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), planning 504 accommodations, and data-driven development of goals to meaningfully support students with disabilities. She was named Teacher of The Year (2012) for her exceptional support of families navigating the complicated and all-too-often frustrating IEP process.
Ms. Kayes has designed original curriculum on a district level to support the development of life skills for students receiving special education services, and has overseen district-level Special Education Departments in which she led collaborative teams focusing on innovative ways of supporting students in the least restrictive educational environment. Using the foundation of a growth mindset and as part of her robust transition plans, Ms. Kayes has empowered countless students to achieve independence and life success outside of the school setting.
As an Assistant Principal, Ms. Kayes used a parent-centered approach in helping caregivers navigate the complexities of special education. She collaborated with school and division-wide special education and related support personnel (e.g., procedural support leaders, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, school psychologists, social workers and special education teachers) to organize parent workshops and informational sessions, Q&A discussions, and provide step-by-step materials to more effectively support their children at home and in working successfully with the school system.
Ms. Kayes has prepared parents across several school districts in Northern Virginia to effectively advocate for their children in IEP meetings. To ensure that students with disabilities receive the assistance they need and deserve in a timely manner, she has advised parents about applicable education laws and policies that entitle children with disabilities to receive appropriate daily supports, individualized accommodations, diagnostic assessments and therapeutic interventions by qualified professionals, and specialized programming.
Ms. Kayes is skilled in understanding the motivation behind complex behaviors that affect children's performance and experience in school. Using her expertise in positive behavior interventions for Fairfax County Public Schools, Ms. Kayes implemented a multi-tiered behavior support system that improved students’ learning, work production, and goal-directed persistence. In serving the “whole child,” she developed unique strategies to promote students’ cooperative and pro-social behaviors and to create a healthy learning environment at school, while giving caregivers tools to use at home to encourage consistency, successful school-home collaboration, and to address underlying reasons for their child’s behaviors.
Through Mindful Schools, Ms. Kayes is Certified Level II Mindfulness Instructor. She is routinely invited to present at national education conferences on the benefits of mindfulness including the correlation between mindful practices and improved executive functioning leading to higher academic growth in students ADHD, Autism and a wide range of disabilities.
As a Certified Life Skills Coach, Ms. Kayes helps her clients bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be in life. Because life coaching is focused on the future, it centers around goal-setting, identifying obstaces, and developing plans to achieve measurable results. Ms, Kayes asks powerful questions, provides accountability, and offers structured support to enable her clients to gain clarity, build confidence, and sustain momentum in areas such as career, relationships, health, and personal development.
Key Benefits of Life Coaching Include:
1. Clarity and Direction to help you become unstuck and more certain about your next steps in life by helping you define what you truly want and aligning goals with core values and purpose - all resulting in transformative change.
2. Accountability and Motivation to move from knowing what to do to following through. Consistent support and accountability helps you stay on track, overcome procrastination, and confront fear-based patterns. Positive growth will be tracked through meeting summaries, reviewing positive changes, and mastering your goals.
3. Improved Confidence through guidance and reinforcement that helps you discover strengths you did not realize you had, thus creating the capacity to take bold steps and make empowere decisions.
4. Better Goal-Setting and Results using evidence-based strategies to help you set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals, enabling you to achieve outcomes faster and more efficiently compared to working alone.
5. Holistic Growth across all dimensions of life, whether the focus is on building positive relationships, stress reduction, mindfulness, career advancement, work-life balance, or personal fulfillment to capitalize on the powerful ripple effect whereby improvements in one area spark positive changes in others.
Ms. Kayes earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from George Mason University. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Teaching with an emphasis in Special Education and an Education Specialist Degree from Liberty University. She is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Family Counseling at Liberty University.