Tag Archives: Special Education Teachers

Retired special ed teacher Phyllis Ehrenthal succumbs to Covid-19

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Covid-19 has claimed he life of yet another educator. Retired elementary special education teacher Phyllis Ehrenthal of Connecticut succumbed to the disease on April 16, 2020.

With sadness, we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another educator. Retired elementary special education teacher Phyllis Ehrenthal of Connecticut succumbed to the disease on April 16, 2020. She was 84 years old.

Phyllis was born on August 13, 1935 and raised in the Bronx borough in New York. As a young girl in the Great Depression, she was a talented and dedicated student. She attended Music and Art High School in New York City. She studied the visual arts there. Upon her graduation, she enrolled at Hunter College in New York City. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English.

As a teacher, Phyllis worked at several schools. Eventually she landed at Fox Run School in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut, where she worked with special education students for 25 years. During her years at Fox Run, Phyllis earned a reputation for encouraging every child to live up to their potential. She encouraged each one to choose their own life goals.

Once Phyllis retired from the teaching profession, she pursued a career as a family therapist. She worked diligently to strengthen the relationships between parents and their teenage children. During this time she also revived her childhood passion for art. She produced many fine oil paintings as a member of a cohort of artists at Weir Farm in Wilton, Connecticut.

To read more about Phyllis, see this online article at Legacy.com.

Elem special ed teacher Katya Robinson named one of five California Teachers of the Year 

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Elementary special education teacher Katya Robinson of Sebastopol in West Sonoma County has been named one of five California 2020 Teachers of the Year  (Photo credit: The Press Democrat)

I love to share stories about teachers who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One such teacher is Katya Robinson, an elementary school educator from Sebastopol, California. She was named one of five of California’s 2020 Teachers of the Year.

Katya teaches special education for kindergarten through third grade at West Sonoma County Consortium School in Sebastopol. Her instructional program emphasizes interaction between her special education students and regular education students. “I believe it’s the educator’s job to open doors for our students, especially during their early years,” Katya told Sonoma West Times & News. “I spend a lot of time creating opportunities to learn and breaking down boundaries to their learning,” she continued.

Katya graduated from Piner High School in Santa Rosa, where she had played varsity soccer and basketball. Once she began to work with her special education students, she quickly noticed a lack of athletic and recreational opportunities for her kids. In 2012, she founded Epic Athletes, an organization which offers free basketball and soccer programs for special needs children.

Katya lost her house in the devastating Tubbs Fire in 2017. The call from California State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond to tell her she had been selected as she was conducting a walk-through of her newly rebuilt home.

The other three honored educators from California include Sean Bui of Fremont, Brenda Chavez-Bararras of Perris, Gus Myers of Burbank, and Mandy Kelly of Saddleback. To read more about Katya, see this article at The Press Democrat.

New Jersey teachers establish food bank to help sheltering-at-home students

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High school teachers Kelly and Cori Carroll of Hackensack High School in Hackensack, New Jersey, established a food bank to help their sheltering-at-home students.

How wonderful it is that many dedicated educators work not only on behalf of their students, but also on behalf of their communities. This is true of teacher Kelly Carroll and his wife Cori, who teach at Hackensack High School in Hackensack, New Jersey. The couple has opened a food bank in their front yard to help feed their needy students and their families.

Kelly teaches culinary arts and Cori teaches special education. When the school first closed in mid-February to comply with the state’s shelter-at-home order, Kelly began making house calls to the homes of his students to discuss home schooling assignments. He suggested to parents that they prepare one meal each day together and then send him a photograph of their work. One parent, however, confessed that she was too embarrassed to show him what she had been feeding her children since she’d been out of work. That’s when Kelly decided he needed to do something to help.

Hackensack High School Culinary Arts teacher Kelly Carroll and his wife, Special Education teacher Cori Carroll, help feed their needy students.

Kelly and Cori started asking their students and parents if they needed groceries. About 15 families indicated they were in need. And then the couple learned there was no food bank in their area to help. That’s when they decided to organize their own food bank to help the needy families.

Kelly has a friend who manages a division of Farmer’s Fridge in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company makes healthy meals for vending machines. The friend offered to donate a shipment of organic salads and sandwiches that. Kelly drove to Carlstadt, picked up 12 crates of pre-made meals, and sorted them into bags for the families of each of the needy students.

Before long, more needy families asked for the donated meals. And within a few weeks, more and more individuals contributed donations of food and cash to the Carrolls. The couple is now feeding approximately 200 families each week. They are also providing necessary household items such as diapers for those families who have toddlers at home.

The effort has caught the attention of Robert Sanchez, Superintendent of Hackensack Schools. “The care and compassion that they have demonstrated for our families during this pandemic has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Sanchez asserts. “We are very proud that they are part of our amazing school system,” he continues.

For the Kelly, the effort is part of his desire to teach his students good citizenship in addition to content. “I want my kids to grow up knowing that this is what you’re supposed to do in times like this.”

To read more about these two Challkboard Champions, see this link at northjersey.com.

Coronavirus claims life of Special Ed teacher and varsity baseball coach Ben Luderer

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Special Education teacher and varsity baseball coach Ben Luderer of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, succumbs to coronavirus.

Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of numerous beloved educators and coaches. One of these is Ben Luderer, a middle school special education teacher and baseball coach from Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Ben was only 30 years old, and healthy, when he contracted the coronavirus and then passed away on March 30, 2020.

Ben was a New Jersey native, having been born on September 29, 1989, in River Vale, New Jersey. As a high school student, Ben was a star baseball player at Don Bosco Preparatory High School, a private Catholic school located in Ramsey, New Jersey.  In 2008, his team logged a record of 33 games undefeated, a nearly impossible achievement, and earned the state championship. Local news outlets dubbed the team the Ironmen. “That team was invincible,” recalls Ben’s former coach, Greg Butler, in an interview with BuzzFeed News. “They felt they couldn’t be beaten, and they weren’t.”

As a result of his high school successes, Ben earned a baseball scholarship to Marist College in New York. There he hit .263 with two home runs and 35 RBI.

OnceBene graduated from college, he inaugurated his career as a special education teacher at School #6 in the Cliffside Park School District. He also began coaching varsity baseball. “I think he realized the power you have and the influence you have,” Butler commented. “I think he wanted to give back.”

“He touched so many lives,” remembers Ben’s wife, Brandy Luderer. “Whether it be a co-worker or an administrator or a player or a student, he always went out of his way to help people. He was a stand-up guy, a stand-up man,” she remarked.

To learn more about this chalkboard champion, see the online article published by BuzzFeed.

Special Ed teacher Alyssa Bohm, crowned Miss Wisconsin 2019, promotes inclusivity

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Special education teacher Alyssa Bohm, crowned Miss Wisconsin 2019, works with high school students to promote inclusivity.

Many fine educators also earn fame in arenas outside of the classroom. One of these is Alyssa Bohm, a high school special education teacher who garnered the title of Miss Wisconsin in the 2019 beauty pageant last July.

Alyssa was raised in Racine, Wisconsin. She graduated from J. I. Case High School in her home town. After her high school graduation, she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, in Kenosha. But because Parkside did not offer a teaching degree, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, the next year. After she earned her college diploma, Alyssa returned to her alma mater to work as a special education teacher.

Throughout her one-year reign as Miss Wisconsin, Alyssa will work to promote her social impact initiative enhancing opportunities for individuals with special needs. Alyssa says her initiative was inspired by her Aunt Cindy, who has an intellectual disability. After Cindy’s parents passed away, she lived with family members, although she now lives in a group home in Milwaukee. “There just weren’t enough resources for her,” Alyssa remarked. “And I wanted to be part of something that was really going to provide opportunity.”

The young teacher has already put a lot of work into providing opportunities for individuals with disabilities. During her freshman year at University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, she served at Case High as the co-adviser for the Sparkle Squad, a cheerleading team for girls with special needs. Currently, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics, Wisconsin. To date, Alyssa has spearheaded many other initiatives to advance inclusivity, including co-creating the Special Olympics College Organization and developing the Special Olympics Football Camp at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. In the coming year, Alyssa hopes to expand the Special Olympics Unified Sports Program, which provides opportunities for those with disabilities and their non-disabled peers to collaborate in the creation of inclusive environments in schools.

Read more about this amazing educator at Special Olympics Wisconsin.