I am a Special Education teacher in a LifeSkills classroom in Panther Valley Elementary School. Panther Valley is comprised of the towns of Lansford, Coaldale, Nesquehoning, and Summit Hill (as well as the out-lying areas). We are located at the edge of the Pocono Mountains.
I have 5 students, ages 5 through 8. The children are a joy and a challenge to work with. The kids enjoy using the United Streaming videos.
Teaching these kids is not always easy; we deal with challenges that regular classrooms never have to think about. I could never do the job that I do without the incredible teaching assistants that I have in my classroom. Jackie Colancecco, Cori Gates and Heather Heffelfinger are a special education teacher’s dream.
Our school year holds many different things to look forward to. Teaching a LifeSkills class allows us the opportunity to travel on many Community Based Instruction trips throughout the school year. My favorites include: Byler’s Pumpkin Patch, the Crayola Factory, the Shriner’s Circus and Mr. Roger’s Fishing Derby (a local man from Jim Thorpe sponsors a day of fishing for special needs children. He has been hosting this event for more 20 years).
I honestly cannot find any way to narrow it down to just one favorite teacher. I have been blessed for the past 11 years to have had the chance to teach side by side with most of “my” teachers from my past. I have not only learned “everything” from them (as a student and now as a teacher), but have also gotten to know them as people and friends.
Hello Tracey, I am a new DEN member in southern CA and I was excited to see your blog because I am originally from Summit Hill. I moved out to CA about 6 years ago and I currently teach 2nd grade in Anaheim. I joined the Den because it is a great way to meet new educators from all over the world and I was happy to see some familiar names from the PV area!!