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Michael Yudin, Karl Dean visit Susan Gray School

Michael Yudin eagerly interacted with students at the Susan Gray School (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt)
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean made a new friend during the visit. (Joan Brasher / Vanderbilt

As part of the “Partners in Progress” Back-to-School Bus Tour with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Michael Yudin visited Vanderbilt University on Sept. 11.

Yudin is acting assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, and an advocate for children with special needs and their families.

Yudin, along with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, toured the Susan Gray School at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, where they visited classrooms and learned about parent involvement in inclusive early education programs.

Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Peabody College, joined them on the tour.

Karl Dean and Michael Yudin at the Susan Gray School (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt)
Karl Dean (right), Michael Yudin (center) and Kathy Floyd-Buggs (left), director of community services for Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), observed classrooms and talked to teachers about the inclusive programs at the Susan Gray School. (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt)

Later Yudin sat in on a roundtable discussion with parents, teachers and community leaders who shared their personal experiences at the Susan Gray School.

A panel of teachers and parents shared their insights with Yudin (Joan Brasher/Vanderbilt)
A panel of teachers and parents shared their insights with Yudin (Joan Brasher / Vanderbilt)

The roundtable was moderated by Elise McMillian, co-director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

The event was arranged by Ann Kaiser, Susan W. Gray Professor of Education and Human Development at Peabody and a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator.