CMF Kids and Crotched Mountain Foundation are currently in year two of a fellowship program in partnership with Littleton School District. This innovative program supports first year Special Education teachers who are part of the school district’s Master’s in Education, Special Education Residency Program through Plymouth State University.
The fellowship initiative is aimed at the ongoing training, cultivation, and retention of Special Educators. CMF Kids assists with scholarship support. These teaching fellows are actively engaged in the school district’s CMF Kids partnership program and help us better understand the role of Special Educators in the communities we serve, as well as the needs of students identified with disabilities.
McKenna Allen is a CMF Kids fellow and took a few moments to share her experience.
What is your role?
I am the Special Education Case Manager at Daisy Bronson Middle School in Littleton. I work with the 7th and 8th grade students, providing push-in services in the classroom and helping students with grade-level curriculum. I offer specially designed instruction based on the students’ needs.
How did you get involved with Special Education?
I always knew that Special Education was what I wanted to do. Every kid is their own individual, like a Rubik’s Cube. And you just have to figure out what’s the right approach, what works for them, to make the things that are not clicking suddenly click. And when it clicks, it’s amazing. It’s wonderful.
Can you share a student success story?
I had a student in fourth grade, and she was not a strong writer or reader. But she loved stories, and especially loved graphic novels. She had this one graphic novel and told me ‘I really want to be able to read this.’ So I worked with her, creating a vocabulary list and spelling patterns and we got to the point where she was reading the book. And we even ended up crafting a short story inspired by the graphic novel!
What’s next for you and your students?
Melissa White, Executive Director of CMF Kids, has set me up with Adaptive Sports Partners, and I’m hoping to start working with them in the spring. For some of my students that have ADHD diagnoses and are very active, they want to do something fun and this will be perfect. I will also be working with students to create paintings, pictures, drawing, and different art pieces that can be used for letters and stationery for Crotched Mountain Foundation. The kids are super excited about it!
What would you tell Crotched Mountain supporters about how their gifts make a difference?
Your support is helping students and teachers in the North Country. You are making it possible for them to have an easier time, because I feel like in the North country the world changes. It’s so helpful for us who are at the “edge of the world,” to access these resources that, otherwise, we would not be able to get as easily. Lives are being impacted in real time!