The law firm of Posternock Apell is pleased to announce that Denver Leigh Watson and Jessica Lenhart have recently joined Advo-Kids, the firm’s Special Education department. Ms. Watson has joined the firm as Director of Educational Services and Jessica Lenhart has joined the firm as Education Consultant, Paralegal.

Denver Leigh Watson has a combined experience of more than twenty years in the field of education and working with individuals with disabilities. She spent the bulk of her career as a teacher of students with disabilities and is also an experienced Child Study Team case manager, as well as a certified Learning Disabilities Consultant and Evaluator in New Jersey. In addition to these positions, Denver was part of the administration team at a private school for students with special needs and has experience in the areas of curriculum development, professional learning communities, assessment design, and instructional technology. In all matters, Denver strives for facilitating collaboration and aims her ambition at safeguarding the unique needs and rights of students with disabilities. As a complement to her professional roles, Denver also understands and personally relates to the perspective and concerns of being a parent/guardian of a child requiring the services of special education. A 2008 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Denver continued her education there to earn her Master of Arts in Teaching (2010) and Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (2012) degrees. She is certified by the New Jersey Department of Education Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant, Supervisor of Instruction, certified Teacher of Students with Disabilities, certified Teacher of English, and a certified Elementary Teacher.

Jessica Lenhart is a former special education attorney who spent her early career representing schools in due process hearings and on appeal. She most enjoyed working closely with educators on successfully implementing student services under the IDEA, Section 504, FERPA and HIPAA. After seeing the often negative results of litigation on educators, parents and students alike, she transitioned to a position with the United Way and worked in support of a Community School initiative. Most recently, Jessica worked at a small charter school in North Carolina where she experienced firsthand the power and challenges of fully including all students, regardless of differences. Jess truly understands the concerns of both schools and parents and takes a careful approach to facilitating communication.

The Advo-Kids special education team of Posternock Apell is made up of special education lawyers, paralegals and educational advocates who believe children of all ability levels should have the same chances for success in school as their peers. Advo-Kids began as the special education practice at the law offices of Posternock Apell, PC, but we noticed that not all of the families coming to us for help necessarily needed the attention of a lawyer. By partnering with educational advocates, we can offer tiers of support and services tailored to what a student needs.