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Two Sanborn Teachers Honored in ‘Exceptional Parent’ Magazine
 Two special education teachers from Gray M. Sanborn School were among ten U.S. educators honored in the September issue of Exceptional Parent magazine. Kristi O’Brill and Patti Vande Hey were nominated by Susan Filar and Grace Moriarty, mothers of two of their students.
The teachers are profiled in the magazine’s “Tribute to Excellence” honoring “Models of Excellence in Education for 2006.” The magazine noted: “Those involved teach invaluable lessons, work long hours and battle anyone who does not believe, all in the name of success for people with special needs.” The magazine profiles are quoted below.
Kristi O’Brill teaches five children with special needs. Her students are non-ambulatory and non-communicative. One of the primary goals in her classroom is to get students to respond in some manner to various types of stimuli being presented to them throughout the day. For example, her children experience various types of switches, light walls, music, art, computers, pet therapy, field trips and aromatherapy. Her children are constantly busy as they work toward their IEP goals. O’Brill is special because she truly cares about the children. According to Susan Filar Jacques (whose daughter, Michelle, is in her classroom), O’Brill told her that everyday she takes a step back, looks around her classroom and asks herself, “If I was the parent of one of these children, would I feel comfortable with everything going on in the classroom?” Each day, she smiles, responds “Yes” to herself and continues her day.
Patti Vande Hey brings a variety of visual and sensory inputs to students with multiple special needs at school each day. With “Miss Patti,” students are truly loved and cared for as Vande Hey works to reach their IEP goals with the help of computers, adaptive switches and other technological aids. As a teacher PTA representative and volunteer at almost every school function, Vande Hey adds her own contributions and continually brings her students into the mainstream population by encouraging their participation with students and staff responding. Reading, science and holiday parties with regular education buddy classes open outside doors for her students Vande Hey’s commitment and encouragement to her students is an inspiration and a true gift to them and their families. She never sees what her students cannot do, but continually instills her classroom theme: “I can do it—yes, I can.”
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