News Releases
January Employee of the Month: Wendy Waitzman, Special Education Teacher, Willow Bend School
The bright blue Post-it® Wendy Waitzman keeps handy on her desk reminds her of the true importance of her job. Jotted on the note are the words of one of her most challenging special education students: “Know why you’re my favorite teacher? Because you’re funny … charming … and you really care!”
Wendy really does care, not only for this student and the other five in her classroom this year, but for all the students she’s worked with during her seven years in District 15 as well as all the students at Willow Bend.
“Her extraordinary teaching style has greatly impacted the lives of her students,” noted her nominator. “Her insight regarding children with special needs has influenced not only her students, but also the entire school community. She eagerly and enthusiastically offers assistance to staff members and parents to better understand how to best meet the needs of children.”
Wendy currently teaches emotionally or behaviorally challenged students in second through fourth grades. She developed the schoolwide behavior plan and works closely with other teachers to keep challenged students in regular education classrooms whenever possible. Her special education students are mainstreamed into regular classrooms for at least part of every day—very important, she says, “because you can’t teach social skills in isolation.” Wendy also co-chairs Willow Bend’s Civic Beliefs Committee, chairs the school decorating committee, is a member of several teams (behavior management, special education, and vocabulary), and is a facilitator for Rainbows, a program for children who have suffered losses from death or divorce.
Wendy holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Western Illinois University. In high school and especially in college, she recognized in her own personality the empathy and caring that she brings to her teaching today. “I always identified with the underdog,” she says. “I knew that was where I was going to go—helping people with behavioral or social issues.”
Returning to teaching after having her children, Wendy spent two years as a planning-time substitute and one year as a teacher in Schaumburg District 54. When she interviewed at Willow Bend, the school was just being renovated, but despite the chaos, she remembers thinking, “If I get this job, I’ll be the luckiest person in the world.” She thinks it’s been exciting to be part of the change process at Willow Bend: “… breaking barriers, taking risks, bringing a technology focus to the school.” She praises the staff for supporting one another every day. “I’ve never seen a climate like this,” she says. “This faculty and school have such a high level of acceptance for kids with special needs.”
Wendy and her husband Joe, a commander in the Rolling Meadows Police Department, have two daughters: Jody, 17, who plans to attend the University of Illinois next year majoring in environmental journalism, and Jessie, 16, a sophomore at Hoffman Estates High School. Wendy loves nature and is looking forward to building a log home on the 40 wooded acres she and Joe own in southern Illinois. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading crime novels.
|
