Tag Archives: Special Education Teachers

Covid-19 claims Georgia Special Ed teacher Wendi Rhodes

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Special Education teacher Wendi Rhodes of Springfield, Georgia, passed away from Covid-19 on March 9, 2021. She is shown here with her son Davin Rhodes. Photo credit: GoFundMe.

With great sadness, we report that yet another beloved educator has succumbed to Covid 19. Wendi Rhodes, a high school Special Education teacher in Springfield, Georgia, passed away on March 9, 2021. She was only 48 years old.

As a youngster, Wendi attended high school in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After graduating in 1990, she enrolled at Georgia Southern University located in Statesboro, Georgia. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education with an emphasis on Special Education in 1995. In 2012, Wendi graduated from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, with her Master’s Degree in Special Education.

As a neophyte educator, Wendi began her career as a first through third grade self-contained Specific Learning Disability teacher Chatham County, Georgia. Later she moved to Lexington, Kentucky. There she taught high school special education for two years, splitting her time between collaborating in the regular education math classes and working with self-contained students who were learning life skills. She then moved to Manassas, Virginia, and worked as a Transition Coordinator for the Manassas City School System. While there, she assisted with job internship placements and facilitated on-the-job training for students with disabilities.

Upon returning to Georgia in 2001, Wendi has worked with students with disabilities at the high school level at Jenkins High School in Savannah, and at both South Effingham High School and Effingham County High School. Her students were the severe and profoundly intellectually disabled.

During her leisure hours, Wendi enjoyed reading novels, crafting projects, bargain shopping, going to concerts, and traveling, especially to the mountains.

To learn more about Wendi Rhodes, see this brief biography published by Effingham County High School.

North Dakota’s JoNell Bakke: Special Ed teacher and politician

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Because of their highly developed leadership skills, hardworking classroom teachers often earn acclaim in the political realm. One such teacher is JoNell Bakke, an educator from Grand Forks, North Dakota, who also served multiple terms in her state’s Senate.

JoNell earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary/Special Education in 1973 and her Master’s of Education in 1997, both from the University of North Dakota.  After earning her degrees, she worked as an eighth grade special education teacher at Elroy Schroeder Middle School in her home city of Grand Forks. Her career spanned the years of 1983 to 2013.

After many years in the classroom, JoNell was elected on the Democratic ticket to the North Dakota State Senate, where she represented the 43rd District from 2007 to 2009, and from 2019 to present day. There she served on the committees for Education, the Commission on Juvenile Justice, the Human Services Committee, and the Committees for Judiciary, Transportation, and Long-Term Care. 

In addition to her work in schools and in the legislature, JoNell has lent her considerable talent to a number of civic organizations. She has served as the President of the Grand Forks Education Association and as a member of the Board of the North Dakota Education Association. She also served as the Chair of the North Dakota Women’s Network and as the Vice Chair of the Board of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. Furthermore, she completed a lengthy stint as the Chair of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Board of Examiners (NCATE) and as a member of the State Mentoring Trainer for Teacher Support System.

To read more about JoNell, see her web page at North Dakota Legislative Branch.

Timothy Shriver: Disability rights activist and former teacher

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Timothy Shriver, former classroom teacher and disability rights activist, works with children involved in Special Olympics International. Photo credit: Cape Cod Life Publications.

There are many compelling stories of public school teachers who work tirelessly for the improvement of their communities. One is Timothy Shriver, a Connecticut educator who now serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Special Olympics International.

Timothy was born in Massachusetts in 1959, the third child of former US Ambassador Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F. Kennedy. Eunice Shriver is renowned for founding the Special Olympics program which recognizes the athletic abilities of individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical challenges.

As a youngster, Timothy attended St. Albans School. He earned his Bachelors degree from Yale University in 1981, and his Master’s degree from the Catholic University of America in 1988. He completed the requirements for his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Connecticut in 1996.

Once he earned his degrees, Timothy spent 15 years as an educator in public high schools in New Haven, Connecticut. Some of these years he was employed as a special education teacher. Later, Timothy worked for Upward Bound through the University of Connecticut as a teacher and counselor of disadvantaged adolescents.

Timothy was instrumental in establishing the Social Development Project in New Haven, and also established the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has served on the Board of directors of The Future Project, a national organization that empowers young people to create positive social change. In addition, he is a Fellow at the School Development Program at the Yale Child Study Center. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Board for Special Olympics International.

As if all this were not enough, Timothy has produced four films, authored The New York Times bestselling book Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most, and has published numerous articles in a variety of newspapers and magazines.

For his exemplary work, Timothy has earned many accolades. In 1995 was named Connecticut Citizen of the Year. He also garnered a Presidential Medallion from the University of Illinois. In 2015, he was named a Walter Camp Distinguished American.

To read more about Timothy, click on this link to an interview conducted with him by ESPN.

NC Special Ed teacher Crystal Bennett succumbs to Covid

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Sadly, Crystal Bennett, a beloved high school Special Ed teacher from West Jefferson, North Carolina, succumbed to Covid on Jan. 13, 2021. Photo credit: Ashe Post and Times.

I often write stories about teachers who have won numerous awards and recognition for their work in the classroom, but there are many teachers out there who silently work day after day, year after year, quietly accomplishing amazing things with their students. Those teachers may not earn awards, but they certainly deserve honors, for they are the cornerstone of the teaching profession. One of these is Crystal Bennett, a high school teacher from West Jefferson, North Carolina. Sadly, this dedicated educator succumbed to Covid on Jan. 13, 2021. She was only 36 years old.

Crystal taught Exceptional Children, which is another name for special education students, at Ashe County High School. Her career there spanned seven years, the first five as a special education assistant and the last two as a classroom teacher. Although her career as an educator was short, it was enough to plant her in the hearts of her students, parents, and colleagues.

“Crystal was compassionate; she worried about her students and their well-being every day,” recalls former classmate, coworker, and close friend, Heather Phillips. “Crystal had a way with her students, she could sense when they’d had a rough day and when there were issues, issues that needed (and were) to be handled before educating could occur. One thing about Crystal, she took care of ‘her kids’ at school,” continued Phillips.

Parent Karen Ham agrees with Phillips. “My son had her as a teacher in high school. She impacted him so much, there were times that he would struggle or be having a bad day. Crystal would see this and stop what she was doing and take the time out of her day to talk to him. She would try to see what she could do to make his day better,” remembers Ham. “And when he graduated, she never lost touch with him. She would still send him messages to check on him to make sure he was OK and staying out of trouble. I know he is going to miss those messages from her,” Ham continued. “She never gave up on her kids and always wanted them to do the best that she knew they could do,” Ham concluded.

To read more tributes for Crystal, see this obituary published in the Ashe Post and Times.

Mary Abrams: Special Ed teacher and member Connecicut State Senate

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Mary Abrams, a dedicated Special Education teacher from Connecticut, also serves diligently in her State Senate.

There are so many talented educators in our country who have chosen to serve their communities not only in the classroom, but also in political office. One of these is Mary Abrams, a Special Education teacher from Connecticut who also serves diligently in her state Senate.

As a young girl, Mary attended St. Rose School in Newton, Connecticut. She graduated from Francis T. Maloney High School in Meriden, Connecticut. She earned both her Bachelor’s and a Master’s degrees in Special Education, and later a Sixth Year degree in Education Leadership, all from Southern Connecticut State University. Mary has also garnered the Educational Leadership Student Award for Excellence in Practice.

After earning her degrees, Mary taught Special Education for over 25 years before transitioning from the classroom to school administration, where she served for more than a decade both as the Director of Special Education and then as a high school Assistant Principal. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Mary served on the Democratic Town Committee, the Library Board, the St. Andrews Vestry, and as a Girl Scout leader. She retired from the academic world in 2017, declaring that she will always be an advocate for education.

In November, 2018, Mary was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve in the Connecticut State Senate. She represents the 13th District, which includes Meriden, Cheshire, Middlefield, Middletown, and Rockfall. In the Senate she serves as the Chair for the Committee on Public Health; the Vice Chair of the Committees on Education and Veterans’ Affairs, and a member of the Committees on Aging and Appropriations.

To learn more about Mary Abrams, click on this link to her website.