David Solomon is the President of Lightspeed Technologies and has spent the past 20 years helping schools create clearer, more accessible classroom listening environments. He focuses on simple, effective audio tools that boost attention, confidence, and inclusive learning for all students. Lightspeed Technologies designs instructional audio systems used in classrooms across the country to improve equity, belonging, and student engagement.

This episode explores how classroom sound shapes belonging, attention, and access—something we don’t always think about in conversations about inclusion. David Solomon from Lightspeed Technologies explains why clear, natural‑volume audio helps every learner, not just students with hearing differences. We also talk about student confidence, teacher vocal health, and the small design choices that make classrooms more inclusive.

Complete transcript and show notes: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/how-instructional-audio-transforms-the-inclusive-classroom-with-lightspeed-technologies-1318/

Matt Guerrero and Tiffany Galloway are leaders at Blue Engine, a nonprofit organization that partners with school systems to scale inclusive practices. Their work spans regions across the U.S.—from New York City to Louisiana, Massachusetts, and the Pacific Northwest—supporting districts in building coherent, system‑level approaches to inclusive instruction. Matt and Tiffany bring deep backgrounds as classroom teachers, special educators, coaches, and district‑level leaders focused on equity, learner variability, and instructional design.

In this episode, Tim talks with Matt Guerrero and Tiffany Galloway about how Blue Engine has evolved from classroom‑level co‑teaching support to helping entire school systems build the structures, mindsets, and capacity needed for inclusive education. They discuss the surprising differences—and similarities—across districts around the country, the challenges of scaling inclusive practices beyond a single classroom, and the importance of unified vision, shared language, and proactive design.

Matt and Tiffany share stories from partnerships in places like New York, Northern California, Massachusetts, Baltimore, and Louisiana, highlighting what it actually looks like when leaders confront silos, build trust, rethink systems, and center learner variability. They also unpack why psychological safety matters in coaching, how systems can move beyond compliance, and what motivates district leaders to pursue real change. The conversation closes with a lighter moment as the guests imagine what job they'd try for just one day.

Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/blue-engine-on-scaling-inclusion-silos-safety-and-system-change-1317/

Dr. Michael Barla is an early childhood educator and former higher‑ed faculty member who now works at the Anchor Center for Blind Children in Denver. In 2024, he completed a residential fellowship at the Clyfford Still Museum, where he designed a sensory‑based translation of a Clyfford Still painting for a young child with a visual impairment.

Jen Taylor is a teacher of students with visual impairments. She began her career in East Texas, spent several years at the Anchor Center, and now works in the Cherry Creek School District. Jen collaborated with Michael on conceptualizing and designing the multisensory translation of the artwork.

Taylor Kingsbery is the parent of Miko, the toddler who explored Michael’s translated artwork. Taylor brings a powerful perspective on accessibility, representation, and what it means to co‑create environments where disabled children can experience belonging and opportunity.

This episode explores what it means to translate fine art—not simply replicate it—for young children with visual impairments. Dr. Michael Barla shares how his residency at the Clyfford Still Museum evolved into a hands‑on project: reimagining a Clyfford Still painting (pH‑914) as a fully sensory experience for Miko, a two‑year‑old who is blind.

With deep collaboration from VI teacher Jen Taylor and insight from Miko’s mom Taylor Kingsbery, the project transformed color, texture, line, and movement into elements children can feel, hear, and explore with their whole bodies. We follow Miko’s visit to the museum—feet first, face pressed close, mapping the artwork from every angle—and learn how sensory access opens doors to representation, identity, and belonging.

The conversation expands from art to universal design, rightful presence, and why inclusion has to begin at the design stage—not as an afterthought. The guests remind us that co‑creation with families and communities is essential if we want places like museums, classrooms, and public spaces to welcome everyone.

Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/how-museums-can-support-young-learners-with-visual-impairment-1316/