The Educator Behind the Resources.
Everything here is built by someone who has been in the room — writing IEPs, running meetings, and coaching students — every school day.
I'm Tony Granato.
I'm the founder of Consult Granato Education and a licensed special education teacher with seven years of classroom experience across middle and high school settings. I specialize in IEP and 504 planning, transition services, and executive functioning — work I do every single day in Illinois classrooms.
I built this platform because the best resources come from people still doing the work. Everything here is classroom-tested, research-based, and built for the real challenges educators and families face.
My approach is direct and honest. When I work with a family, I tell them exactly what I see in their student's documents, what their rights are, and what the most effective next step looks like — not what's easiest, what's right.
Credentials & Background
Seven years in the classroom, backed by formal training across special education, physical education, and adapted PE.
Bachelor's Degree
Special Education
Illinois State University
Master's Degree
Physical Education
Chicago State University
ISBE Certifications
LBS1 · Physical Education
Health Ed · Adapted PE
Active Practitioner
Practicing SpEd Teacher
Case Manager & Coach
Alexandra Galanopoulos.
Life Skills & Significant Disabilities Specialist
Alexandra is a licensed special education teacher with eight years in the life-skills classroom, supporting middle-school students with significant and complex disabilities. Her work is rooted in functional curriculum — the daily-living, communication, and independence skills that help students build the most self-determined adult life possible.
She covers the part of the spectrum Tony's practice doesn't. Where Tony focuses on executive functioning, transition, and case management for higher-incidence needs, Alexandra walks alongside families navigating significant disabilities and the long horizon of adult planning — guardianship, adult services, and life after high school.
She and Tony are married — two practicing Illinois special education teachers who, together, cover the full range of student needs. Alexandra holds a B.S. in Special Education from Illinois State University and a Master's in Curriculum & Instruction from Olivet Nazarene University, with eight years of coaching alongside her time in the classroom.
"The best advocacy comes from knowing the system from the inside."
Most families walk into IEP meetings without knowing what they're entitled to. Most educators want better tools but don't have time to build them. That's the gap I'm working to close — one family, one classroom, one school at a time.
The North Shore has incredible families and dedicated educators. They deserve support that's actually grounded in how Illinois special education works — not generic advice from someone who's never held an IEP pen.