TMC: Thank you for talking to me! Let's begin!! Why did you choose to work at an elementary school?

While I was in college, I first started working at Kids On Campus and I loved it! I love working with kids and my mom thought I would enjoy becoming an Instructional Aide. She'd been working as one and thought it would be an opportunity for me to get more work hours and learn something new.

I like working with elementary school age kids because I enjoy getting to see them grow and progress in their learning, and their energy is really fun.

TMC: Why did you choose Special Education?

When my mom suggested I become an Instructional Aide, I decided to try it. I had not really worked with any children who had special needs, but I believe that everyone is unique and special, and has the potential to do anything they set their mind to, so I wanted to work with them and learn from them. I really enjoy it!!

TMC: Can you tell us a little bit about Special Ed at Richland?

Special Education at Richland includes students with all different needs. Some students are in specialized classes (where they are able to get more one-on-one help) and some are in the general education classes (where they can be with other students in their grade). The students in the general education classes get extra help from their grade level education specialist teacher, as well as the aides. Students in the Special Education Department have many resources to help them with their personal needs through speech, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and adaptive PE. The teachers and the aides work together to help each student succeed no matter their disability. The Special Education Department is made up of amazing individuals who really care for all of the students that they work with.

TMC: How does the district support the program at Richland?

The district supports us at Richland through the different trainings they provide for us to grow in our knowledge of how to help students learn. In the classes with students with more severe disabilities, the district has behavior specialists come to the classes to provide support to the staff and give strategies that might work best for each student.

TMC: How do you see the Special Ed program changing over time? What changes would you like to see in the program?

Over the time that I have worked with the Special Education department for SMUSD I have seen more and more trainings provided for staff to grow in their knowledge and experience. When I started out I did not know very much about how to help the students that I was working with. The staff that I have worked with through the years have taught me how I can best help the students. I would love to see even more trainings be provided by the district, but I think it would also be cool if staff were able to shadow other classes to get new ideas that they can then take back to use in the class that they are in or with the students that they work with. I have been able to work with so many different teachers and students throughout my time with the district and I have learned so much from everyone I have worked with.

I would also love for the special education department to grow with more people coming to work for the district. It is a very rewarding job and students at every school could use the help.

TMC: What are you looking forward to this year?

I'm looking forward to seeing the student with whom I am a one-on-one aide and all of the fifth graders graduate from Richland and move on to middle school. I have been with this year's graduating class since they were in second grade and I have gotten to see them all grow through the years. I am so proud of all of them, but I will be very sad to see them all go.

I am also excited to see the new Richland being built. It is being built right outside of our windows so it is exciting to see all the different changes taking place each day. It is a little sad too though because Richland is the school I attended for elementary school. So to see it change is kind of sad, but the new school will be brand new and have amazing facilities for the students to enjoy.

TMC: And one last question. Can you share with us one cool fact about you?

One cool fact about me that most people don't know is that I have traveled to 13 different countries! I have had the opportunity to go to Mexico, England (2 times), Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Egypt, Japan, India (3 times), Germany, Israel, and Canada.

TMC: WOOOOW!!

I lived in England when I was 18 when I decided to take a semester off of college, and volunteered for an organization that had people come from all over the world to work from 3 months to a year. I lived there for 6 months. It was an amazing opportunity to become friends with so many different people and learn about their different cultures. It opened my eyes to how big our world is and I was bitten by the travel bug. Since then I have gotten to go all over the world to different countries for vacation, missions trips, and to teach English. Every time I go to a new place I learn so much from the people that live there. I hope to continue to travel once travel restrictions have been lifted.

TMC: That sounds amazing!

TMC: Thank you for talking to me! It was wonderful!

You have a great day! Okay, thanks for talking. Bye. Bye.