Joshua Fritts
Ed.D
Dr. Joshua Fritts has over 38 years in education and is currently the Director of Therapeutic Programs with the Educational Service District 112 (ESD 112) in Vancouver, Washington, where he has worked to expand access to behavioral and mental health programs for Washington students since 2024. Prior to his current role, Dr. Fritts has served in several executive leadership positions with school districts and organizations across the world. From having been the Executive Administrator for Teaching and Learning with Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon, to serving as Assistant Superintendent of the Sherwood School District in Sherwood, Oregon, to the Head of School at Ruamrudee International Schools Ratchapruek Campus in Thailand, Head of Elementary at The Lab School of Washington in Washington, D.C., and Head of Teaching and Learning for Qatar Foundation schools in Qatar, where he founded the Awsaj Teaching and Learning Center, he has also served as a Director of Special Education and Principal in large urban and suburban school districts, all with a commitment to expanding the support and success of diverse learners.
Additionally, before moving into administration, he served as a Special Education Teacher and Paraeducator. Truly dedicated to quality education for all, Dr. Fritts is committed to supporting students with language and learning differences, focused upon educating each and every student to the highest of academic and social-emotional standards.
While Dr. Fritts’ career has taken him around the world, he is originally from Seattle, Washington and has called Oregon his home since college, attending Clackamas Community College and Portland State University, before going on to complete his doctorate in Educational Leadership, Curriculum, and Instruction at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ashley Bloodworth
M.A., BCBA
Ashley Bloodworth, M.A., BCBA, serves as Program Director at Florens Academy, a therapeutic program of Educational Service District 112 in Vancouver, Washington. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with more than a decade of experience in public education and an additional seven years working in clinical and community settings as both a behavior analyst and a licensed speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA). Before joining ESD 112, Ashley worked across rural and urban public school systems in a range of roles, from direct service provider to district-level administrator.
In her current role, she leads interdisciplinary teams at Florens Academy to support students with complex communication and behavioral needs. Drawing on her background in both speech-language pathology and applied behavior analysis, Ashley is particularly passionate about trauma-assumed practices and the development of functional communication systems that provide learners meaningful ways to express their needs while reducing unsafe behavior.
Ashley is deeply committed to building sustainable systems that support educators, mentoring the next generation of practitioners, and creating structures that promote student success across settings through the lens of behavior analysis. She was also previously recognized with the Educational Impact Award in her home state of Texas for her leadership, program development, and contributions to improved outcomes for special education students in public education. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys baking, walking her dog, exploring thrift shops in the greater Portland area, and playing pub trivia with her husband.
Ian Powell
M.S., CCC-SLP
Ian Powell has been practicing Speech-Language Pathology for over 25 years and has worked with people with special needs since 1989. Ian’s clinical approach focuses on relationship-based intervention. He believes that collaboration with related services with a framework of trauma informed practices facilitates integration of services for those requiring behavioral and mental health supports. Interests and skills include Autism Spectrum Disorders, AAC Articulation and Oral Motor Disorders, Orofacial Myology, and Cognitive Processing. Ian obtained a Master of Science degree from Portland State University. He holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and licenses to practice in Oregon, Washington, and California. When not providing service, he enjoys spending time with his wife, sons, and grandchildren.
SESSION DESCRIPTION
Collaborating across Disciplines to Increase Student Success
This session will look beyond the role of the SLP and AAC/AT provider in helping to ensure student success through a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach to helping students develop increased functional communication and decrease socially maladaptive behaviors. Florens Academy is a public alternative educational day program located in Vancouver, WA. The program opened in August 2024 with a mission to serve students in southwest Washington who demonstrate cognitive challenges, communication disorders, and extreme self-injurious or aggressive behaviors. Students who were previously served in residential and/or other settings outside of their home community, due to the severity of their behaviors. Through a collaborative approach across multiple disciplines; Behavior Specialists (BCBAs, RBTs, and CBTs/BTs), Speech Language Pathologist, Special Education Teacher, and Nursing/School Health Services the students served in the program have been successful at increasing their functional communication skills and decreasing maladaptive behaviors. A case study approach will be shared with workshop participants highlighting how this collaborative approach and focus upon functional communication through AAC & AT along with assent-based practices has helped students to go from multiple incidents per day requiring physical interventions such as restraint and/or isolation in their previous educational settings, to flourishing not only behaviorally, but academically and socially as well.