ANW Coop Teacher
I grew up in Miami County Kansas, graduating from Paola High School in May of 2010. I then attended Benedictine College in Atchison, KS earning a bachelor's degree in both elementary and special education in May 2014. I decided to continue my education at Pittsburg State University, receiving a master’s degree in special education in May of 2016.
Benedictine College:
Bachelor of Art:
Elementary Education
Special Education
Pittsburg State University
Master of Science
Special Education
I started working in the USD 257 district as the secondary low incidence special education teacher in August of 2014. My classroom is located at Iola HIgh School.
My goal is to help my students develop and master a wide variety of functional skills that are going to help them to be successful in their post secondary settings. Some of these skills include life skills to social skills, all the way to sensory input. Here are some examples of what might be happening in my room on any given day:
Life skills:
Grooming habits
Cooking/kitchen skills and tasks
Laundry
Pre-vocational skills
High school students are enrolled in an off campus work study
Practice and perform simple vocational tasks within the school
Following a work schedule independently
Community Based Instruction
Messenger Service, running errands around town for teacher within the building
Art teacher needs 12 glue sticks from Wal-Mart
Secretary needs a package delivered to the post office
Sensory Therapy
Related services direct and consultative services
Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Speech and Language Pathologist
Vision therapy
Adapted physical education
Social skills
Learning social norms within multiple setting
Learning how to introduce themselves
Learning how to appropriately interact with peers and adults
Special Olympics
Bowling (Fall)
Basketball (Winter)
Track and Field (Spring)
My current position position at USD 257 has been my first and only teaching job, with the exception of two semesters of student teaching at Benedictine College. However, I do have a background in working with individuals with disabilities prior to my teaching career.
In the summer of 2010 I started working at Wonderland Camp in Rocky Mount, MO. Wonderland Camp is a summer camp for children and adults with disabilities. I worked for a total of 8 summers, working as a counselor/cabin leader for 5 summers, and working as part of the administration team for the next 3 summers.
It was at camp that I truly found my calling to serve individuals with disabilities. Within those 8 summers at camp I gained so many experiences and learned so many things that I have transferred over to a classroom setting. I definitely believe that working at camp has helped me become the teacher I am today.
I married Mr. Bates over the summer, we both are teachers in the district. Both of my parents are still in Miami County, my father works as an Athletic Trainer at two high schools and my mother is a physical therapist. I have an older brother that is working towards becoming an athletic trainer, a younger brother that is a 6th grade science teacher in central Kansas, and a younger sister that is a student-athlete at Missouri Southern State University. Finally, I have a beautiful 13 year old yellow lab named Toby!
Some things that I like to do when I’m not working is: