Eastside teachers receive ARC award

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Eastside Elementary School teachers Shari Owens, far left, and Julie Powers, far right, were recently honored by the ARC of Tennessee as Outstanding Educators for 2002. Between the award-winning teachers are Troy and Julie Sullivan, who nominated them.

For their efforts in helping a special needs, second-grade student become a successful part of a regular education classroom, a team of three Eastside Elementary School teachers was recently awarded the ARC of Tennessee’s Outstanding Educator Award for 2002.

Comprising the winning team are regular education teacher Julie Powers, special education teacher Shari Owens and consultant Melissa Brown.

The ARC of Tennessee is a statewide organization which provides advocacy, information and support for people and their families who suffer from mental retardation and related developmental disabilities. The Outstanding Educator Award is one of several awards given by the organization annually and recognizes an individual educator, or team of educators, who have demonstrated excellence.

Powers, Owens and Brown were nominated by Julie Sullivan, co-president of the Warren County ARC chapter. Sullivan was impressed the trio, which had never worked together, came together during the past school year to implement the successful inclusion of her daughter, Olivia, who has Down’s syndrome, into a regular education classroom.

Inclusion, as its name suggests, involves placing special needs children in regular education classrooms with their peers.

According to school system special education director Linda Wilson, inclusion is a growing trend in Warren County Schools, as well as those across the state and nation.

Powers, a regular education teacher who had never worked with a severely disabled child, said at the beginning of the year she was a bit apprehensive about having Olivia in her room. But the year was a learning experience and she now feels much better prepared.

“It was challenging, yet very rewarding,” Powers said. “As her speech is limited, communication was the biggest challenge, but we tried to include her in as many class activities as we could.”

Olivia spent just under half of the school day with her peers in the regular education class. She was separated from the class during her direct instruction, which must be taught at her skill level, but participated with the class in morning learning activities, as well as physical education, art, library, music and lunch.

“I really wish people could see this. It’s just amazing,” said Owens. “We’ve paved a lot of roads at Eastside this year. It was a new experience for most of the teachers and students, but everyone in the whole school looked out for her and was her buddy.”