Amy Ballin Consulting
Amy Ballin Consulting
Amy Ballin is a career educator and counselor. Before earning her doctorate in education, she worked in K-12 schools as both a teacher and counselor for over 25 years. She served as an assistant professor at both Simmons University and Antioch University, supporting pre-service teachers in special education. For the past two years, she developed and implemented professional development training for Walker Therapeutic and Educational Programs with a focus on social-emotional well being. Currently, Dr. Ballin provides services to support schools and families as an educational consultant and parent coach (Amy Ballin Consulting, ABC)
Dr. Ballin received her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University as an environmental education major. She earned a Masters in Science Teaching from Antioch/New England and worked as a science educator for ten years before earning her Masters in Social Work from Boston University. Dr. Ballin received her C.A.G.S. in education administration and her Ph.D in education from Lesley University, where she explored theories of school culture, the ethics of special education, and the complexities of student motivation.
Dr. Ballin’s scholarly interests include a focus on creative approaches to teaching pedagogy and social action to eradicate injustices embedded within our educational system. She believes in connecting the social and emotional lives of children with their academic success. As such, she focuses on designing teaching methods to engage a wide range of learners, helping educators to find solutions to teaching children rather than finding blame. Her research area and interests include exploring how racial and socioeconomic assumptions intersect with the social constructs of special education. Her publication, The Quest for Meaningful Special Education, explores these concepts in depth. Dr Ballin has authored numerous research articles and presented at myriad academic conferences on the impact of calming corners, trauma-sensitive approaches, secondary trauma, and anxiety in schools.
In Dr. Ballin’s role as a school counselor, she worked with parents, students, and teachers to find common ground and solutions for student academic success. She continues this work as a parent coach and also offers professional development and coaching for educators.
Author Amy Ballin speaks about inequities in education. March, 2017.
Amy is the best! When I was feeling deflated by the endless parenting advice that didn’t seem to apply to my kid, Amy was able to step in and help me see what was important: loving and appreciated the kid I had, and doing whatever I could to nurture and preserve that relationship. She helped me step back from the endless power struggles, to better understand what made him tick, and to let go just a bit of what other people thought. Amy is a rockstar!A Mother form North Hampton, MA
I worked with Amy to facilitate a series of staff sessions to implement Calm Corners in our PreK-12 district. Amy is masterful in balancing professional development sessions with multiple modes of learning to engage teachers in the midst of their busy days. Both her direct instruction to teachers and her consultation to my work district-wide have been invaluable to building a common practice that meets the needs of all students.Jessica Durling, M.Ed., MTSS Tier I Coordinator, PreK-12, Groton-Dunstable Regional School District
The Quest for Meaningful Special Education is available now in hardcover, paperback and e-editions from the following retailers. Click the links below to purchase.
