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A.D.E. (Audacity to Dare to Educate)

@a_d_e_lab

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Some moments touch your heart in ways you’ll never forget. Today was one of them. 🤎🎤

Shakela Mills-Strawberry, your vision for Stories Served came to life in such a powerful way! It was a blessing and an honor for On Purpose with Stacey J Podcast to be part of this experience.
And watching my son, Dana, moderate the all-male panel, “Three Generations. One Conversation.” I could not have been prouder! Sharing this experience with him felt like such a full circle moment. To see him using his voice and helping others share their stories meant so much to me as his mother. 🤎

The documentary LEFT BEHIND is absolutely amazing a must see for all families, educators, and policymakers. It shares the powerful stories of parents who became advocates for their children, fighting for the understanding, support, and educational opportunities they deserved.

A special thank you to filmmaker Anna for bringing these families’ journeys to the screen with such care and impact. Their stories remind us how powerful a parent’s voice can be and why children with dyslexia deserve to be understood and supported. 🤎🎬

Shakela, thank you for trusting us to be part of your vision, and congratulations on five years of A D E - Audacity to Dare to Educate! Thank @you to the panelists and everyone who showed up ready to listen, learn, and engage.

Real talk. Real purpose. Real life. This is why we do what we do.

#OnPurposeWithStaceyJ #StoriesServed #AudacityToDareToEducate #DyslexiaAwarenessMonth #Neurodiversity #ProudMomMoment

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Philly, I'll see you Saturday! 💙

To celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Month, I'll be at a screening of Left Behind, and I'm so excited to share what comes next. Have you seen the film yet? If not, this is the perfect chance.

Saturday is also about the next chapter for Left Behind: Imagine Reading, a nonprofit building a parent community to support ALL students with dyslexia. Are you a parent who's felt alone in this fight? This community is for you. 🔗 Link in bio

We have amazing speakers lined up, and Aden from the film will be there to share where he is today. What would you ask him if you had the chance? Come ready with your questions!

📍 Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia
🗓 Saturday, October 3 at 12 PM

Bring a friend, bring your questions, and come be part of something bigger. 📚

#DyslexiaAwarenessMonth #LeftBehind #ImagineReading #Dyslexia #ParentAdvocacy #Philly

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I will be in Philly on October 3rd for a screening of Left Behind and a full afternoon of events with absolutely phenomenal panels. If you are in the Philly area, please join us to kick off Dyslexia Awareness Month. I will also be announcing the exciting next steps for the film and our campaign. Link for tix in bio

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Please watch powerful conversations. Catch the full episode on the OnPurposewithStaceyJ YouTube channel.
@theeshakela is a mother, advocate, and founder of @a_d_e_lab The Audacity to Dare to Educate but behind the advocacy is a story many people have never heard.

In this episode, Shakela opens up about what it cost her to fight for her son, search for resources, and advocate for other families while carrying more than anyone around her may have realized.

She shares candidly about the toll it took on her mentally, physically, and spiritually, including reaching a place where she questioned whether she wanted to continue living, entering a 30-day mental health treatment facility, and experiencing stress so severe that she lost her hair and required injections in her scalp.
But that is not where her story ends.
She talks about surviving. Healing. Rebuilding. And somehow finding the strength to continue serving and advocating for others.

This conversation reminded me that sometimes we see the work people are doing, but we have no idea about the war they fought just to still be here to do it.

This one is raw. It’s vulnerable. It’s courageous. And it is PURPOSE in its realest form.

🎙️ On Purpose with Stacey J
Real talk. Real purpose. Real life.

You do not want to miss this episode. ❤️#OnPurposeWithStaceyJ #TheAudacityToDare #MentalHealthMatters #AdvocacyInAction #PurposeThroughPain

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Walking in Purpose has taken me to places I never imagined.

This isn't a job; it's a calling.

I am so excited to have been chosen to present at the country’s largest and most impactful gathering of Black male educators and those who support them. The 9th Annual Black Male Educators Convening.

BMEC Theme: Rooted in History: Constructing the Next 100 Years of Education
My Session: Speaking In SpED™: Lost in Translation—A Language We Were Never Taught
November 13–15, 2026
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown - 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Yes, registration is still available!

hashtag#BMEC2026
hashtag#SpeakinginSpED
hashtag#AudacitytoDaretoEducate

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Systems change doesn’t happen alone. It takes a village.

We’re grateful for the incredible organizations and leaders who make up the Upstream Education Village. Together, we’re creating a butterfly effect of opportunity, impact, and hope that reaches generations to come.

@a_d_e_lab
@bealightmissions
@d.e.w.e.r.s
@govconnecthq

#UpstreamEducation #UpstreamVillage #CommunityImpact #NonprofitLeadership

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This past weekend, something powerful happened.

A D E - Audacity to Dare to Educate’s (@a_d_e_lab ) The Neurodivergent Immersion Experience brought together educators, families, youth, and community members to move beyond awareness… and into understanding.

We didn’t just talk about neurodivergence.
We experienced it.
We felt it.
We grew from it.

And none of this would have been possible without our incredible partners and sponsors:
💛 @read2succeedphilly
💙 Penn Medicine
📸 True North Living Company Liz Zulli
🧠 ABA Centers of Pennsylvania
🏦 Chase Bank

Those who helped make this day possible:
The office of State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams
Daniel Everett & Heather Holmes Everett
Bird Oliver-Kressler
Author Brent Johnstone
Dr. Salome Thomas-El
Ernie Bristow
Dr. Tracy Johnson
Stacey Jackson
Triple R Robinson

My AMAZING FAMILY!

And our partner, the @communityofcompassioncdc

Thank you for believing in this vision and helping us create a space where empathy, connection, and learning could thrive.

Because of you, we are one step closer to: Closing the Equity Gap in Special Education, One Unique Mind at a Time.

We didn’t just host an event…we built a Village.

Save the Date for the same time next year!

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Yesterday, Pastor Herndon had me on his radio show on @phillysfavor ! This month is AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH 🧩 and one of the things I mentioned on the show was to FIND YOUR TRIBE! When you have leadership that sees and embraces the vision GOD places in you and does what they can to see that vision come forth, you have found your tribe! I am learning in real time that GOD WASTES NOTHING!

Come out starting TONIGHT at 6pm! Meet Author Brent Johnstone @bent_bent8200 for an amazing conversation around Dyslexic and Proud ! You will not be disappointed and DINNER WILL BE SERVED!

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Parents, educators, researchers, policymakers, advocates, and community leaders packed Norfolk State University for the 3rd Annual Black Literacy Matters® Conference: Boots on the Ground: Reclaiming Literacy, Rewriting History.

And that's exactly what we did.

We heard from truly world-renowned experts — Dr. Julia Washington, Dr. Altheria Caldera, Kareem Weaver, and so many others. We learned from people who lived through literacy struggles firsthand — Brent Johnstone, Ameer Baraka, and Deon Butler. And then the room went quiet for the most powerful voices of all, children with Dyslexia, featured in the Left Behind documentary, telling the adults in the room exactly what they need.

Read by 4th was honored to present our Parent Workshop for Early Literacy Skills. A huge thank you to both Joy McIntosh-Ragland & Rasheeda Polk for bringing joy to the presentation, just like you do with families across the city as Family and Community Engagement Liaison for the School District of Philadelphia.

Our biggest takeaway we want to make sure everyone hears? The Science of Reading and culture are not at odds. We need both to teach our children to read.

Structured literacy. Phonics. Decoding. Comprehension. Home language (English, Spanish, African American English, and beyond). Black history. Cultural songs and traditions. Community. All of it belongs in the room. All of it helps grow strong readers.

If you haven’t done so already, add the Black Literacy Matters Conference to your calendar for 2027. We hope to see you next year.

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Sometimes our tense or baffling interactions are more about a lack of insight than actual malice.

Even those we expect to have a certain level of expertise may need additional training.

In my latest episode, @a_d_e_lab founder, Shakela Strawberry, shares a story where she realized even the Special Education teachers weren't fully aware of dyslexia. This obviously can create more than one challenge for her as a parent, the school and of course her child.

If you haven't already registered for the "Neurodivergent Immersion Experience" in April, go to their page (it's in my shoe notes) and register TODAY! This is an event for diverse learners, parents, teachers and the entire community.

#dyslexia #specialeducationteacher #neurodivergent #podcast

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NEW EPISODE ALERT!! 📢 🔥 📢

As you go into the weekend, make sure you listen to my latest episode where I had the chance to chat with Shakela Strawberry who founded the neurodivergent affirming non-profit @a_d_e_lab A.D.E. (Audacity to Dare to Educate).

If you're a parent or educator....THIS. ONE. HITS. DIFFERENT.

We discuss how schools can essentially be a conveyor belt for prison when you're neurodivergent, the journey of accepting your child learns differently and so much more.

As always, the best place to listen is on my website (link in bio), sheldongayisbugn.com/#podcast

You can also watch directly on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/lspyfs1J_yw?si=xV02_LOdEiRiPnWI

If you know of a school looking to learn how to better understand and support neurodivergent students and staff members, reach out to me and we can discuss how I can help!

#neurodivergent #education #parenting #empathy dyslexia

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I'm happy to announce I'll be speaking at the @a_d_e_lab conference in April!

I will be sharing, "Beloved Community: A Movement from the Margins", where I'll discuss how we come together to create inclusive communities, especially for melanated and marginalized people.

Join us in Philadelphia for two days of community enrichment with amazing speakers, powerful networking and an IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE.

That's right, have you ever wondered what it felt like to walk in your neurodivergent friend or family member's shoes? There will be sensory experiences that help you better understand what many of us experience each day.

Register and learn more at bit.ly/adeconf2026

#ConferenceSpeaker #neuroaffirming #inclusion #phillyevents

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