Tag Archives: Special Education Teachers

Mercedes Munoz: Oregon’s 2019 State Teacher of the Year

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High School special education teacher Mercedes Munoz has been named Oregon’s 2019 State Teacher of the Year. (Photo credit: Oregon Public Broadcasting)

I enjoy sharing stories about educators who have been recognized for their dedication and hard work in the classroom. One of these is Mercedes Munoz, a high school special education teacher who was named Oregon’s 2019 State Teacher of the Year.

Mercedes says some of her students have come from a rough place, and grounding them in education is her primary goal. “To be an anchor in someone’s life, and to tell them that they can make it, and there are other moments to look forward to, that is a special joy that I get in teaching,” she declares.

The honored educator speaks from personal experience. As a teenager, she only needed a few more credits to graduate when she decided to drop out of Portland’s Benson High School. She was one of those kids, she conceded, who needed just a bit of encouragement to stay in school.

Eventually Mercedes did go back to school. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English/Language Arts from Portland State University in 2011. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education and Teaching from the same university in 2013.

Once she graduated, Mercedes was hired to teach at Franklin High School in Portland. There she has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the special education “push-in model.” The model features close collaboration between the special education teacher and the general education teacher to maximize the student’s inclusion in general education classes. In addition to this work, Mercedes is a member of her school’s Equity Team, the Safety Committee, and the Poetry Slam Committee. She is also highly involved in the recruitment of historically under-served students in Franklin’s Advanced Placement Program.

To read more about this amazing educator, see this article published by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

New York teacher Gabrielle Gayle stood up for her colleagues

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New York special education teacher Gabrielle Gayle stood up for the rights of her colleagues, literally.

I often encounter stories about educators who work towards bettering the lives of their colleagues. This is true of Gabrielle Gayle, a fourth grade special education teacher from New York City. Sadly, this particular educator passed away from complications of Covid-19 on April 25, 2020.

Gabrielle Gayle taught at Merrick Academy, a public charter school located in the Queens. In a career that spanned 12 years, four of them were spent at Merrick Academy. Her fellow teaches remember her fondly as a generous person, willing to help both students and co-workers. She was known for her long days. One time she even stayed so late she got locked in the building!

This indefatigable educator was also a union representative. During the most recent contract negotiation, her colleagues describe what they describe as Gabrielle’s “Norma Rae” moment. “Our Board of Trustees was not giving us a date to negotiate, and Gabby and I organized staff to come to the Board meeting,” recalled colleague Christine Hernandez. “We all wore black and agreed we would determine the right time to stand up and be recognized. Gabby texted me, ‘I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to stand up.’ She stood up and she said, ‘We, the Merrick Academy teaching staff, demand that you recognize us. We’ve been waiting for a date for negotiations and we’re not going to wait any longer,'” Hernandez continued. Everyone stood up with Gabby, and educators soon got their negotiation date. “She really lived her principles and would not back down. She was not afraid to be vocal and stand up for what she knew was right,” Hernandez concluded.

While educating New York City schoolchildren, Gabrielle also served as a softball coach for Roosevelt Middle and High schools. At Utica College, where she double majored in special education and general education, Gabrielle mentored other students and fought for equity for women and students of color. She was also pursuing an advanced degree. She had only one semester to go before completing the requirements for her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University.

When she passed away, Gabrielle was only 34 years old, and pregnant with her second child. She leaves behind a husband and four-year-old daughter. To read her obituary, see this link to New York State United Teachers.

Heather Whitaker named 2020 Teacher of the Year for Maine

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Heather Whitaker of Gorham Middle School in Gorham, Maine, has been named the 2020 Teacher of the Year for the state of Maine.

I love to tell stories about classroom educators who have earned honors for their work in the classroom. One of these is Heather Whitaker, a middle school teacher who has been named the 2020 Teacher of the Year for her home state of Maine.

Heather has taught at Gorham Middle School for nearly 20 years. During that time, she co-founded a backpack program in her school district to provide meals for underprivileged students to eat on weekends and vacations. In addition, Heather inaugurated a school garden. Over the last 15 years, the garden has produced an average of 800 pounds of produce per year for the Gorham Community Food Pantry.  Students in her alternative education classes are active volunteers for both programs. Recently the program was awarded a State Farm Community Assist grant in the amount of $25,000.

The process by which Heather was selected for the 2020 honors was lengthy. She was chosen from more than 300 teachers who were nominated by a member of their community earlier this year. She was then named the 2019 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. Next she was named one of three state finalists before finally being named the 2020 Teacher of the Year.

“It was an honor to be selected, and it’s extremely exciting because it helps highlight the work of alternative learners and how hard they work to get to school and to stay in school,” Heather expressed. “I think it also gives other alternative education teachers a platform and a voice, through me, to bring attention to the needs of youth who are at risk within our schools.”

The honored educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with Moderate Special Needs from Boston College in 2000. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Literary Education from the University of Southern Maine in 2005.

To read more about Heather, see this press release from the University of Southern Maine.

Coronavirus claims life of NJ Special Ed teacher Milca Hernandez 

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Coronavirus claims the life of dedicated middle school special education teacher Milca Hernandez of Trenton, New Jersey.

Sadly, the coronavirus has claimed the life of yet another dedicated educator. Milca Hernandez, a middle school special education teacher from Trenton NewJersey, passed away on May 28, 2020. She was 55 years old.

Milca earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Arecibo, in 1998. She earned a Master’s degree in Education from Canyon University last year.

Milca was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. She was the eldest of five siblings. She graduated from Trenton Central High School. Once she completed her Bachelor’s degree in 1998, Milca returned to her home town of Trenton. She began her career as an educator the same year. At the time of her passing, she taught at Grace A. Dunn Middle School in Trenton.

During her career as an educator, Milca taught some of the district’s most intellectually challenged and disabled students. “She was a very warm, caring, knowledgeable educator who made all of her students feel valued,” remembered Addie Daniels-Lane, President of the Trenton School Board. “Ms. Hernandez was firm, yet fair, and held high expectations for her students. She was highly respected by her colleagues and deeply appreciated by the parents of her students,” she continued.

In fact, Milca’s dedication in the classroom was so exemplary that she was honored as a Teacher of the Year, not once, but twice, according to her family.

To learn more about Milca, follow this link to the story about her published in the Trentonian.