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.