Photo: Gege Xu
Arts In Your Classroom
Learn how to deepen learning through arts integration
Overview
Thank you for joining us for Arts In Your Classroom 2025!
Click the button below to be notified when registration opens for AIYC 2026!
Montalvo Arts Center invites you to join us for our annual Arts In Your Classroom conference! Serving educators and academic professionals, each year’s conference offers a range of current industry topics that focus on a relevant theme.
During the conference, you will learn from a diverse and distinguished speakers and individual session presenters who will cover key concepts and best practices, share tools and resources, and lead thoughtful discussions. The conference will provide opportunities to practice activities that you can implement in your classroom that cultivate critical and creative thinking. You will also have time to network with presenters, Montalvo staff, and other educators as we collectively continue our invaluable work with students and communities.
AIYC 2025
Arts in Your Classroom 2025—Neurodiversity: Fostering Inclusion
Saturday, March 1, 2025 • 8:30am-4pm • FREE Registration
Join us for the 23rd Annual Arts in Your Classroom conference, designed to inspire educators to incorporate arts integration strategies into their teaching practice. This year’s conference will provide teachers with a deeper understanding of how incorporating arts integration strategies and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) supports the neurodiversity of all learners.
Applying UDL principles assures that all learners can access and participate in meaningful learning opportunities. UDL centers learners’ identities, emphasizing the role of belonging in teaching and learning. Workshop sessions will provide K-8 educators with skills, tools, and knowledge to carry out practical, standards-based techniques, approaches, and activities that will bring creativity and joy to teaching and enhance student learning.
Inspiration, community, and lunch will be provided, including an end-of-day networking wine reception.
Teacher registration fees have been underwritten by a generous grant from SVCreates. The Conference is financially supported by members and donors of the Montalvo Arts Center.
Community Engagement Partners include
San Jose State University; College of Adaptive Arts at West Valley College; and the Santa Clara County Office of Education Inclusion Collaborative.
Keynote Speakers and Presenters
Ryan Neale
Inspiration Keynote Speaker
Founder of the Neurodivergent Youth Empowerment Fund
Nicole Kim
Leadership Keynote Speaker
Executive Director of the College of Adaptive Arts
Gena Pacada
Presenter
Makerspace Coordinator at the Santa Clara County Office of Education, Inclusion Collaborative
Cristin Reichmuth
Co-Presenter with Julie Kwok
Specializes in differentiated instruction, Project Based Learning, curriculum development.
Julie Kwok
Co-Presenter with Cristin Reichmuth
Teacher and an SEL TOSA for the Saratoga Union School District
Kristi Carvajal
Presenter
Teacher in San Jose Unified School District
Program
Inspiration Keynote
Ryan Neale
Founder of the Neurodivergent Youth Empowerment Fund
Sparking the Neurodivergent Hero’s Journey
Founder of the Neurodivergent Youth Empowerment Fund and Autism Storytelling Project, Ryan is a neurodiversity advocate, storyteller, and speaker, exploring the intersection of disability and communication studies at UCLA. Growing up autistic with ADHD in a neurotypical world often led Ryan to mask his differences. Now, he’s learning to embrace his identity and is working to build a world where the next generation of neurodivergent kids feel empowered to do the same.
Leadership Keynote
Nicole Kim
Executive Director of College of Adaptive Arts at West Valley College
The Canvas of Inclusion: How UDL and the ARTS Instructional Model© Transform Education
Just as a symphony harmonizes diverse instruments into a cohesive masterpiece, UDL and the ARTS Instructional Model unite diverse learners through creativity and inclusion. Through a lens of equity and belonging, we’ll explore practical strategies to create vibrant, inclusive classrooms where creativity unlocks potential and amplifies every student’s voice. Universal Design for Learning and the ARTS Instructional Model share a commitment to empowering all learners, ensuring no student is left behind.
Nicole Kim is the Executive Director of the College of Adaptive Arts (CAA), a groundbreaking nonprofit organization dedicated to providing higher education opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She built a distinguished career in the tech industry, serving as an operations leader at companies such as PayPal, eBay, Instagram, Indeed, and Cigna. Nicole leverages her unique blend of corporate and nonprofit expertise to drive sustainable growth at CAA, including the development of new campuses and programs. She is also a passionate educator, teaching Joy of Baking and Intro to Employment Skills and inspiring lifelong learning for students of all abilities. Nicole’s work is fueled by her belief in the transformative power of education and her dedication to building inclusive environments where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Workshop A: Reimagining the Hero’s Journey
Presenter: Gena Pacada | Coordinator, Makerspace Training, Inclusion Collaborative, SCCOE | Presenter Bio
Description: In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore the connections between the new 3.0 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles that focus on student agency and the California Arts Standards, while engaging in creative activities you can adapt for your classroom. Leave with practical strategies and lesson ideas that bring the arts to life in any subject. Empower your students to express their knowledge in ways that honor their unique strengths and creativity.
Workshop B: SEL Through the Arts: Unleashing Creativity in the Classroom
Presenter: Julie Kwok (Co-Presenter Bio) & Cristin Reichmuth (Co-Presenter Bio)
Description: Explore how SEL principles and arts integration can be used to create inclusive and engaging learning environments that support a wide range of diverse learners. Experience firsthand how the arts foster emotional expression and social connection through interactive activities, such as visual storytelling to express feelings and build empathy, and roleplaying to understand how people with autism are bothered by things most people don’t notice. Educators will leave with a toolkit of resources, strategies, and a plan for implementing SEL-infused arts integration in their own teaching practice.
Workshop C: Boosting Student Engagement with Visual Arts and AI
Presenter: Kristi Carvajal | Teacher in San Jose Unified School District | Presenter Bio
Description: Explore how to use visual arts, UDL, and arts integration strategies to pique the interest of all learners, especially the neurodiverse. Attendees will discover how AI can aid character development in writing by creating a drawn figure that comes to life on the screen; get Expo Marker drawings to float; use drawing to demonstrate understanding types of angles; and design agamographs to teach perspective and multiple viewpoints. A final collaborative project will help us soar together and inspire each other.
Thank you to our Sponsors
and Community Engagement Partners
