Dana - Home Coordinator

After working in a public school classroom helping children with mental retardation for six years, Dana Trombley was looking for a career where she could continue to help children with special needs that accommodated her job as a mom of teenage children. In June 2001, she found just the position at Heartspring as a paraeducator, working weekends in one of the six group homes on campus.

“I applied at Heartspring because I enjoy working with children with special needs,” said Dana.

Since beginning her career at Heartspring in 2001, Dana has been promoted several times and is currently the home supervisor in Group Home 7 (G7). This group home is off campus in a residential setting. The setting is a new and exciting challenge for Dana and staff. Dana has learned a lot from the students she works with. “I have learned how to work with a variety of children with multiple disabilities,” she said. “Working here has taught me to be more understanding and patient.”

Dana said she and her staff truly love the students they work with, and push them to achieve more. She recalls one student who, because of his behaviors, was unable to leave campus. Now, as a result of the progress he has made at the Heartspring School he is able to participate in outings with his housemates and can even spend the night in a hotel when his mom or dad comes to visit.

As a home supervisor, part of Dana’s job is to help parents of students as they enroll their children in the Heartspring School. “It is very hard for parents when they have to leave their child for the first time,” she said. “I try to make it as smooth of a transition as possible. Most of our parents live several hundred miles from Heartspring. Parents are very appreciative to be able to leave their son or daughter at a school that truly loves and cares for them.”

Working at Heartspring has also helped Dana at home. Her middle son, Justin, has Down Syndrome. At age 25, he lives in an adult group home and is employed by a local organization for adults with disabilities. “Working here has taught me to be more understanding and patient as a parent,” said Dana. It has also made me more appreciative of the smaller things in life.” Dana enjoys having Justin spend every other weekend with her. Dana has three other children and two grandchildren.

Dana also helps teach self-help skills to the students who live in her home. “When students enroll at Heartspring, they are unable to do many things for themselves, such as bathing or brushing their teeth,” she said. “Many have very few ways of communication. It is a great feeling to work at a school that truly does make a difference in the lives of so many families.”