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Currently in her 4th year of teaching

All four years have been as an Instructional Specialist/Special Education teacher

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Chose a guiding word early in life: “Passion”

Torn between two career paths, but followed the one she felt most passionate about

Always felt drawn to special education

“If I became a teacher, I knew it would be in special education.”

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Core beliefs stayed the same, but they’ve become more focused

As a student teacher, she believed:

Every student deserves a quality education

Building relationships matters

Still believes in those two pillars today

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Challenges:

Getting the whole team to collaborate (student, parent, admin, gen ed teacher)

“It is so difficult to get a student to be successful if the team can not collaborate.”

Rewards:

Watching students grow in various ways

Growth looks different for each child, and it's always meaningful

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Have patience

Start each day fresh

These two things are game changers, especially with students who have behavioral challenges

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Loves inclusion when it’s the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Biggest concern: state assessments

Students use accommodations all year, but lose them during tests

“They expect low readers to read 3 large passages independently... it does not make any sense to me.”

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Would’ve chosen something in the medical field, possibly radiology

Loved anatomy and even tutored nursing students in college

“I was stuck between teaching and becoming a radiologist.”

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There’s a lot of negativity in education, but it’s all about who you surround yourself with

“There are tons of positive and amazing things happening in education right now!”

Advice: stay around positive people and create your own experience