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Diana Casato
ESS Consultant
Education Support Services Group
Diana Casato earned a B.S. in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton, and M.A.’s in both Special Education and School Administration from California State University, Los Angeles.
She served as a general and special education teacher and site administrator during the first 18 years of her career, and has spent the past 20 years at the district office level as a Special Education Coordinator, Director of Pupil Services & Special Education, SELPA Director, Director of Special Education, and Executive Director of Special Education.
As a Director of Special Education for four different school districts, Mrs. Casato has been responsible for the oversight of all operations and services of the districts’ special education departments, including close collaboration with all district departments providing education, safety, and welfare services for students with and without disabilities.
She has written several grants for training and materials in the areas of Reading Literacy, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mental Health Services, and Co-Teaching Instructional Model.
Mrs. Casato has also been instrumental in the development of successful autism-focused programs, positive behavior supports, educational-related mental health support services, reading intervention programs (including dyslexia supports), dispute resolution alternatives, alternatives-to-suspension programs, and multi-tier support systems.
Additionally, Mrs. Casato has been directly involved in the resolution of several civil rights complaints, as well as over 200 due process cases, the majority of which settled with much success in their early stages.
She is a strong believer in TEAM, and people working together interdependently to achieve a common goal.
Mrs. Casato is the mother of five children (three of whom are educators) within a blended family. She and her husband, John, are both retired education administrators, and reside in South Orange County. They are the proud grandparents of six beautiful grandchildren.