News Releases
June 2006 Employee of the Month:
Dee Backlund
Special Education Program Assistant
Walter R. Sundling Junior High School
“Autism really has my heart,” says Dee Backlund, a program assistant in the autism program at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. This is absolutely my niche in life!”
Working with special education students is actually a second career for Dee, who worked in banking for 25 years in California before she “semi-retired.” After moving back to the area to be near family eight years ago and working at some other jobs, Dee volunteered at Central Road School where her nephew was in kindergarten. The teacher and program assistant noticed her talent for dealing effectively with children and “forced me to apply for a program assistant’s job.” When the district called about an opening in the autism program, Dee read all she could find about the condition and went to observe in the classroom. “I can do this,” she remembers thinking—and she definitely can!
“Dee is the epitome of a great teaching assistant,” her nominator said. “Her quick response to the needs of the students allows the teacher to be able to provide effective and meaningful lessons for them.” The nomination also cited Dee for “her tireless patience and countless acts of kindness in her assistance to the students under her care.”
Dee has been with District 15 for 6˝ years, “traveling with the autism program”and teacher Maureen Quesse. She was at Central Road for half a year, Marion Jordan for two years, Plum Grove for two years, and at Walter R. Sundling for one year, “and we’ll be back here next year!”
“My whole life is special ed,” she chuckles. She’s involved with District 15’s Special Olympics team and coaches bowling, basketball, and track and field. For the past year, she’s worked for Northwest Special Recreation Association, primarily at Kirk School, where she assists with after-school programs including swim lessons, work on gross motor skills, gym, and socialization. She provides private after-school care for an 8-year-old boy three days a week and expects to become registered with the state in the next few weeks as a respite care worker for another boy with autism.
She continues with the district’s autism classes during the summer. Dee’s dedication and commitment carry over into her personal life. In May, she participated in the Cure Autism Now Walk in Chicago to benefit autism research. She describes herself as an avid reader, and her planned summer reading includes several books on autism. In addition, she’s been vice president of the Educational Support Personnel Association for four years. Dee also enjoys spending time with her family including a brother and two sisters, ten nieces and nephews, and five great-nieces and great-nephews.
Dee will be recognized at the June 14, 2006, Board of Education meeting, to be held at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, at 7 p.m.
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