Leah Schneider is a Special Education Teacher at O’Connell Elementary School who in just three years of teaching has become an expert at meeting student needs. She works closely with her groups of K-2 students to provide academic supports and build skills that they can bring back to their classrooms.
“Ms. Schneider is an amazing special education teacher. We're lucky to have her here,” said O’Connell Principal Greg Fox. “She is always working. She works 24/7. She's committed to making sure that she's meeting those needs of the students. She's got a smile on her face every day. She has positive impact on everybody that she is involved with.”
In Schneider’s role, she works with special education students both in their regular classrooms and her own resource room. She collaborates with other special education staff and general education teachers to support student needs and make sure the team is meeting every student’s IEP goals.
Fox said, “She really is a master at knowing what our students need, how to get there, what materials to use, and then how to collaborate with those general education teachers to make sure that those skills are being reinforced throughout every single day.”
Learn more about Leah Schneider in the Q&A below.
How long have you been teaching and in your current role?
Schneider: I've been teaching for three years, and all three of those years have been at O'Connell. I did my master's year internship at Langford, so I was in East Hartford before then. And then I transitioned to O'Connell to start my first teaching position.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
Schneider: I get to do a lot of different things in my role. Every day is a little bit different. I do a lot of pull out, small group academic supports for students who require specialized instruction. I work in reading small groups with students in kindergarten, first and second grade. And I also work in math small groups with students in those grades as well. I also do a lot of social, emotional, and behavior supports within the classroom to support students and provide them with what they need to be successful in the general education setting.
How would you describe your teaching style?
Schneider: I try to be as structured as possible. I feel like a lot of my students like the routines and like to know what to expect when they're in my classroom. So, keeping routines as consistent as I can, and then lots of positive praise. Letting them know even though things might be hard, we can try our best. We can ask for help, asking for help is a really important skill in here. And then to carry that over into the classroom, so teaching them lots of skills in here to then support them into their classrooms.
Supporting three grade levels, it sounds like you work with a lot of different students.
Schenider: Yes, I work with many different students and I also get to work with lots of teachers, which is amazing. I get to collaborate with all of our kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers, and I get to work with all the wonderful staff we have here.
All of my students have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). So, they have specific goals and objectives that we work toward, and we provide them with the supports and strategies and specialized instruction that they require to gain those skills to be able to access the curriculum in the general education classroom.
They all have different goals and objectives in their plans. What are some of those overarching skills and goals you’re working on with your students?
Schneider: I think relationships are so important, especially for my students. I get to work with them for three years. So, my second graders, I’ve had some of them for all three years that I’ve been here, which is amazing to see the growth not only in one school year, but the growth across several school years, and building relationships with their families across those years.
One of the biggest things is, obviously, we work a lot on academics. I work a lot on building foundational skills, especially starting in kindergarten. Really working on starting out, working at letter names, letter sounds, working on those really foundational skills. And then as students get older, working on their reading fluency. With a range of students, I have some students who have more comprehension-based goals. They might be able to read the text, but then diving deeper into what does this mean in a text or answering question about the text, doing more inferential questions. So, all my students have kind of those individualized things that that they’re working on that they get in the resource setting here.
What is your favorite part about your job?
Schneider: I would say just the interactions that I have with my students. The confidence that they get when they finally get a skill or just seeing the growth that they make. Having them run in, give me a hug when they're in the cafeteria or, having them give me a quiet wave when they're in line with a big smile. I think just the relationships that I have with my students, as well as the relationships that I've been able to build with the staff here in my couple years here. It’s nice to have those continued relationships.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.