Wow! I may have to move!

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Teacher of Year enjoys sharing about 'her kids'

11/18/04 Shaw Respond to this storyEmail this story to a friend

Gordon County’s Teacher of the Year spends some quality classroom time with student at Belwood Elementary School.

Being named Gordon County’s Teacher of the Year is more than just an honor for . The Belwood Elementary School special education teacher views the distinction as an opportunity to educate the public about “her kids,†a classroom of autistic children. “This classroom is my greatest accomplishment because it has allowed me the wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of children with autism,†she said. “Several of my students started off with no means to communicate and a variety of challenging behaviors, but I’ve been able to give them a vehicle to communicate and a structured environment where they are developing into successful students.†Visitors to ’s classroom often ask if all of her students are “high functioning†special education students, she said. “That question always makes me smile because it gives me the opportunity to share a brief history of where my students have come from to where they are now – a true testimonial that autistic children can learn and be successful,†she said. “At the end of every day, I leave school knowing I am making a difference in the lives of children with autism and giving their parents a feeling of hope.†said she never intended to teach special education in 1992 when she received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Georgia Southern University. “Like so many others, I went into education to change the lives of children; however, I became a special education teacher because exceptional children changed my life,†she explained. “I was drawn to the children with whom no one else wanted to work: the petite blonde girl with Coke-bottle glasses, born prematurely and as a result learning disabled, or the disheveled, intellectually disabled, little African American girl who lived in a dirt floor cabin with her seven siblings.†Just like their peers, felt these children needed someone to love, accept, and educate them. “This is why I became a special education teacher,†she said. began her career in 1992 at Ashworth Middle School teaching sixth to eighth grade students with moderate intellectual disabilities and orthopedic impairments. She went on to receive her master’s degree in children with multiple and severe disabilities from Georgia State University and her specialist’s degree in education administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. She holds an additional certification in Orthopedic Impairments. In May of 2000, was approached about starting Gordon County’s first autism program at Belwood Elementary School. “Its establishment has become my greatest accomplishment professionally,†she said. “At that time, the number of autistic children in our system was beginning to grow and to meet the needs of these children I set out to make our program the best in Georgia.†By the end of the second year, it was one of three selected as a Model Autism Classroom and served as a training site for numerous teachers from surrounding counties. “I have taught over 150 teachers how to work with children with autism,†she said. “The beauty of the plan is that it has allowed me to train other educators who will in turn touch the lives of other children with autism.†received her training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s world renowned TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children) and is a qualified autism consultant. “When children are born, they do not ask God to make them handicapped and they cannot help being learning disabled, intellectually disabled, or physically disabled,†she said. “A sign outside my classroom greets visitors: ‘Person first, disability second,’ and this is the belief I live by because all children can learn.†But her work with autism isn’t limited to children. She has also worked as an adult mentor in a social skills group for adults with autism. “Every week we met as a group and worked on social skills,†she said. “These skills ranged from how to interact with people in public, appropriate social exchanges between adults, and appropriate responses to social situations such as how to react to an unwanted Christmas gift.†Currently, she is working to start an Autism Awareness Group for Gordon County. “As our autism numbers continue to grow, I would like to see members of our community educated about autism,†said. added that the self-fulfilling prophecy that students achieve to the level of their teacher’s expectation empowers her students’ success. “I expect every one of them to learn and achieve, beginning wherever their skills and knowledge are and going toward where they need to be to function in society,†she said. “Their daily accomplishments are my rewards and I love to see their faces light up when they know they have accomplished their goal.†Her colleagues say that what sets her apart from other teachers is her ability to expect the most from her students and not settle because they have a disability. “I find what motivates them and I use it to teach them,†explained. “Again, I believe all children can learn and it is my job – my privilege – to be creative and figure out how to make that learning take place to promote success.†Ten state finalists for Georgia’s Teacher of the Year will be announced in January and the state winner will be named in March. said she can’t take all the credit for being named Gordon County’s Teacher of the Year. “My parapros, Holt and Michele Greeson, are just wonderful and I could not ask for better administrative support,†she said. “They always come in and greet each one of my children and wait for a response. I truly believe every teacher who has had the opportunity to work with my students in their general education class has ended up just embracing them and really enjoys having them in their class.†also credits her classroom of kids for the award. “Before the judges visited my classroom, I had to prepare my students for the visits because change or anything ‘different’ is sometimes hard for them to accept, and they did so well,†said. “When they announced that I was Teacher of the Year, they got so excited and started squealing ‘We won! We won!’†In addition, thanks her husband Grant, a special education teacher at Gordon Central High School; their children, Sam, 8, and Timber, 7; her mom Carol Anne; and her grandparents and Anne Hutcheson. “My father passed away when I was 11, and my mom did a remarkable job raising four children alone,†said. “I will forever be grateful to my grandparents for putting me through college – they’ve really made me who I am today.â€