Cassandra Holifield
Dr. Cassandra Allen Holifield is a well-respected educational leader who works in the field of Special Education with an emphasis in Emotional Behavioral Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, mental health, and trauma. Dr. Holifield earned her doctorate degree (PhD) from Georgia State University and she currently serves as the Director of North Metro Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Supports (GNETS), one of twenty-four GNETS programs across the state of Georgia which provides educational, behavioral and therapeutic supports to local systems' continuum of services for students with disabilities, ages 5-21 who exhibit significant Emotional Behavioral Disorders and other mental related disabilities. Prior to serving as the North Metro GNETS Director, Dr. Holifield served as the Director of Northwest Georgia Learning Resources System (GLRS), Special Education and English Language Learning Product Manager for Western Governors University, the Emotional Behavioral Disorders Program Specialist for the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), and was a former Emotional and Behavioral Disorder (EBD) and Autism teacher for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) in which she piloted the first Autism class at Walter White Elementary in Atlanta Public Schools that began the evolution of moving "appropriate" students statewide out of Psycho-Educational Programs (GNETS), back into their home schools.
Dr. Holifield has also had the honor of serving as a Special Education Ambassador to South Africa in 2005, and is also a published author of an article and a book, "Using Self-Monitoring to Increase Attending to Task and Academic Accuracy in Children with Autism" in the referred journal, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (FOCUS), October 4, 2010, and "The ABC's of Response to Intervention & Behavior Next Steps: A Practitioner's Guide to Implementation", October 2008. Dr. Holifield also serves as a part-time Special Education Contributing Faculty member of Walden University. Additionally, she is an active member of her sorority, the Rho Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and she's also an active member of her church, World Changers Church International. Dr. Holifield has over 20 years of educational experiences as a practitioner, researcher, leader, and an agent of social change working in the community to change lives of all that she serves.
Courses Taught
EDUC 6637 - Literacy Assessment and Intervention to Support Student Learning
EDUC 6627 - Foundations of Literacy
EDUC 6782 - Supporting Effective Evaluation and Assessment Practices
EDUC 6791 - Special Education Due Process
EDUC 8900 - Research Forum
EDUC 6626 - Foundations of Special Education
Education
BA, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
MEd, Georgia State University
PhD, Georgia State University
Public Service
Rho Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Member - Marietta, GA
Awards / Honors
Special Education Ambassador to South Africa, People to People, 2004
Executive Board Member, Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (GCASE), 2013
Executive Board Member, Georgia Network for Educational & Therapeutic Supports (GNETS), 2014
Cambridge Who's Who of America Top 101 Industry Ex, , 2010
Presentations
Holifield, C. A. (2019). The Basics of Functional Behavioral Assessments, Behavior Interventions, and the Fidelity of Implementation. Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education
Holifield, D. A. (2017). “Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavioral Intervention Plans Development Using a Triangulation of Data Process”. Teacher Educators of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Conference (TECBD)
Holifield, C. A. (2019). The Basics of Functional Behavioral Assessments, Behavior Interventions, and the Fidelity of Implementation. Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education
Holifield, C. A. (2018). Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavioral Intervention Plans Development Using a Triangulation of Data Process. Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (GCASE)
Holifield, C. A. (2018). Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavioral Intervention Plans Development Using a Triangulation of Data Process. Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (GCASE)