About Us
At IEP Ally, we elevate professional development through collaborative, skill-building sessions that leave educators energized, confident, and equipped with tools they can apply from day one.
90%
of participants report feeling prepared to apply what they learned immediately.
Core Beliefs
Our work at IEP Ally is grounded in a few core beliefs about what special education should actually look like.
Special Education is a service, NOT a place
Support should be flexible, responsive, and designed to meet students where they are. It is NOT defined by a location.
We don't need to add more to teachers' plates. We need to make what's already there, work better.
The goal isn't more systems, more data, or more tasks. It's clarity and using what already exists more effectively.
Professional learning should be engaging, practical, and immediately usable.
Teachers should leave with tools they can implement right away, including strategies that enhance what they’re already doing, not add something new to manage.
Student strengths should drive the entire IEP
The strengths section is often the most underutilized, yet it holds the key to meaningful, effective support. When strengths are at the forefront, instruction becomes more targeted and impactful.
About Our Founder & Lead Special Education Consultant
Samantha Scaturro is an educational consultant who partners with school districts to strengthen special education systems, build staff capacity and improve outcomes for students with disabilities. With more than a decade of experience in public education serving students ages 3-21, she brings a wealth of knowledge in the development of high-quality Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), data-informed decision-making, and collaborative problem solving within multidisciplinary teams.
Samantha holds two master's degrees from the prestigious Teachers College Columbia University-one in Educational Psychology and one in Applied Developmental and Learning Psychology-and has completed advanced training in Educational Leadership through Stony Brook University. Her professional experience includes serving as a Committee on Special Education (CSE) Chairperson as well as a school psychologist where she led teams in designing measurable IEP goals strengthening progress monitoring systems and ensuring compliance while maintaining a student-centered approach.
Through her consulting work, Samantha supports school districts with professional development and systems-level improvements that help educators confidently utilize data to make sound instructional decisions. She firmly believes that a well-written IEP should clearly capture the individuality of a student; so much so that anyone reading the document should be able to recognize that student in a classroom full of children.
When she's not supporting school teams, Samantha volunteers as the Director of Vacation Bible School for Eastport Bible Church, where operates a free, week-long summer camp for over 200 children in the community. Her favorite part of the work? Organizing schedules, spreadsheets, and activities to keep everything running smoothly. She also keeps up with the lively household she shares with her husband, two children, dog, rabbit, and twelve very opinionated chickens.
Credentials
TEACHERS COLLEGE,
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Masters of Education
Applied Developmental and Learning Psychology
TEACHERS COLLEGE,
COLUMBIA UNVIERSITY
Masters of Art
Educational Psychology
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Arts
Criminal Justice