Meet the Team Behind RARE.

Felicia Andre, Ed.D. -Founder

Shauna Rourke, M.Ed.- Program Director

“After years of supporting students in urban public schools with emotional and behavioral challenges, I saw a common pattern: schools invest heavily in student support, but often overlook the well-being of the adults doing the heavy lifting. The RARE Approach was created to help educators build the resilience necessary to sustain meaningful impact to set students up for success.”- Dr. Felicia Andre

At The RARE Approach, our work is rooted in lived experience, meaningful relationships, and a shared commitment to creating educational environments where all students can thrive.

The RARE Approach was born from Dr. Felicia Andre's doctoral research examining the experiences of educators working with students identified with emotional impairment in urban public school settings. Through her findings, four themes consistently emerged: Relationships, Rapport and Consistency as Foundations of Teaching and Retention; Authenticity, Accountability and High Expectations as Conditions for Trust; Redefining Success as Growth, Progress and Empowerment; and Emotional Regulation, Reflection and Support as Survival Practices—forming the acronym RARE and the foundation of a framework designed to strengthen educators while improving outcomes for students. While the framework emerged through research, its application has been refined through years of collaborative practice.

As educators with backgrounds in special education, we have spent over a decade supporting students with a wide range of strengths, needs, and learning profiles. Before becoming co-teachers, we each worked in substantially separate classroom settings within the same district. Through conversations about our professional experiences, we discovered that we had supported many of the same students at different points in their educational journeys. Those shared experiences reinforced what we already knew: every student deserves educators who recognize their potential and are willing to adapt systems to help them succeed.

For the past three years, we have co-taught in an inclusive classroom setting, building a partnership grounded in trust, flexibility, and a shared commitment to student success. In our current classroom roles, Shauna brings expertise in special education, assessment, and IEP implementation, while Felicia contributes experience in literacy instruction, curriculum development, educator coaching, and teacher resilience. Together, our strengths complement one another, allowing us to provide practical, student-centered solutions for educators and schools.

What makes The RARE Approach unique is that we are still doing the work. As current classroom educators, the strategies we share are not only research-informed; they are classroom-tested and immediately applicable.

Through professional development, coaching, and consultation, we help schools strengthen educator resilience, foster meaningful relationships, and create learning environments where all students can thrive. We believe that meaningful school improvement happens when educators work together, leverage one another's strengths, and remain committed to a shared purpose. We advocate for relationship-centered classrooms, inclusive practices, and evidence-based strategies that support students with diverse academic, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Different strengths. Shared purpose. One RARE approach to supporting all learners.

Built for Teacher Resilience. Designed for Student Success.