Highlands has had a wave of new teachers coming to join the faculty team this year, including three new amazing teachers to help with the special education students.
Sarah Messmer is one of these new teachers and she is an instructional assistant for the special- ed department. As the instructional assistant, her main job is to be there for a child whenever they need help. She also helps with making sure that peer tutors are with their students and that they are in the right classroom.
Messmer said, “I pretty much do anything that is needed at any time. Whether it is helping a child do the work that he or she needs to do right then or getting to a class or finding out where or who needs to be with a peer tutor. Just making sure that everyone is doing what they need to be doing and where they need to be at any given time during the day.”
Being a special education teacher comes with needing the right qualifications. Being able to work with all kids no matter the circumstances is crucial for this job.
“I applied, I have a social work degree and I have experience with my niece and nephew Johnny and Elizabeth Brass and as a caregiver with kids with special needs and other people that need help, so that went into play and it helped me get the job.”
Mitch Meyer is another new special education teacher. He used to be a baseball coach at Highlands for 4 years, but came back to be a special education teacher. Being a special ed teacher means setting goals for all of the staff to make sure that all of the students are comfortable and happy.
Meyer said, “Our main goal is to make sure kids are making progress in their IEP goals and making progress academically. We are also there to support them just in every aspect of life, so if they are having a bad day, we give them the skills to overcome a bad day. My daily schedule is I’m in Math and English classes, so we are there as an extra support for them in their general education classes that way, and then I have learning strategies when they come to me and we work on their goals, their daily living skills, and then their careers like what they want to do after college.”
Making sure every student at Highlands is confident and comfortable with their work and how they attack problems is a big part of how Highlands runs smoothly.
Meyer said, “A lot of what I do is to try and instill confidence in them. I think a lot of students, in general, are unsure if what they are doing is right and I’m always there to make sure they know that they are doing well.”
Aaron Lehman is a new MSD (Musculoskeletal Disorders) special education teacher. MSD means they are injuries to the body’s musculoskeletal system. Discs, muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments are a few examples of this but not the only ones. Being knowledgeable about this disorder and what it means is important for this job.
Lehman said, “As an MSD teacher I have to be knowledgeable in many different areas such as being educated about moderate and severe disabilities, how to work with students that have a variety of needs, how to complete legal documents such as IEPs (Individualized Education Plan), how to communicate professionally with families, and how to manage Instructional Aids among others.”
Making sure students are engaged and having activities for them to do can ensure that they are happy and having fun, but also learning at the same time. Having set activities and routines to do is critical to make sure that each day runs smoothly and makes sure the students know what they will be doing each day.
Lehman said, “There are many things I do on a daily basis with my students, but some of them are: provide instruction for a variety of courses, take them to the sensory skills room, assist them with eating, facilitating fun activities with my students and peer tutors, picking them up from parents and dropping them off, monitoring their IEP goals, etc.”
All three of these new teachers are well-qualified and so excited to be working in the special education department with all of the amazing students at Highlands. Having three teachers with different jobs can help when it comes to keeping things organized for not only the special education department, but for everyone in the school.
