Professional Development

Tina Bailey - Marietta, Ohio
Tina Bailey is a resource teacher for kindergarten through third grade students with mild to moderate intellectual impairments. She teaches reading, writing, math and social skills to special needs students at Phillips School in Marietta, Ohio. Marietta is a small community at the edge of the Appalachian Mountains on the border of Ohio and West Virginia.

Ms. Bailey received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary and Special Education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She completed her Master's Degree in Reading from the University of Dayton, Dayton Ohio. In her fourteen-year teaching career, she has received recognition as Teacher of Year, Outstanding Teacher and has been awarded several monetary grants to be used in providing educational opportunities for students.

Ms. Bailey works to overcome the communication gap between school and homes by being involved in various professional and community activities. The mountain culture in which she teaches requires time and dedication to earn the trust of families. Collaborating with other professionals and agencies helps Tina takes a team approach that works for meeting the needs of these students and their families.

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Allison Cugini - Staten Island, New York
Allison Cugini has spent 19 years as a public school teacher in self-contained special education classrooms. Ms. Cugini was instrumental in opening the Special Education Unit with 4 self-contained classrooms at PS 23 Richmondtown School, in Staten Island, New York. She is currently a resource teacher there, providing teacher support services for students in 13 classrooms.

Ms. Cugini's students have been designated as at-risk or identified as having learning disabilities or other special needs. Allison is committed to providing a learning environment that is nurturing, supportive and secure for these students. Her commitment goes beyond the classroom. She has also served as District Facilitator for an after school reading program for her district.

Ms. Cugini graduated with her Master's Degree in Special Education from The College of Staten Island, a campus of The City University of New York. She completed a second graduate program there, receiving certification as a School Building and District Administrator. In 2002, Ms. Cugini earned the distinction of becoming a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.

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Laurie Eckenrode - Raleigh, North Carolina
Ms. Laurie Eckenrode is the lead teacher in a self-contained program for young children with autism in the Washington Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. During the summers, Ms. Eckenrode serves as a trainer for the University of North Carolina Division TEACCH. Her classroom also serves as demonstration classroom for the TEACCH Model, hosting visitors from all over the United States, as well as seven other countries.

Ms. Eckenrode's classroom was chosen to participate in the documentary film "The History of Autism". The film is for public television and educational use. She was the keynote speaker at the National Special Education Conference in Shin-Yokohama, Japan.

Ms. Eckenrode received her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1976. She has added several other teaching certificates since that time and continues to be a life long learner, currently pursuing coursework in technology and understanding poverty.

Laurie's greatest pleasures in teaching come from watching her students achieve a goal. She collaborates with parents, teachers and outside agencies to provide the means for these successes by working together for a common cause.

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Joseph Goldberger - College Park, Georgia
Joseph Goldberger teaches children with autism in kindergarten through fifth grade at Hamilton Holmes Elementary School, Fulton County Schools, in College Park, Georgia. Mr. Goldberger's classroom is described as being transitional for students with autism. Students often come to this classroom after a more restrictive placement and may move into the general education setting from there.

Mr Goldberger received a Bachelor of Science degree in Exceptional Children from Georgia Southern University. He completed his Masters in Education in Behavior Disorders at the State University of West Georgia. Mr. Goldberger has repeatedly been recognized as Teacher of the Year for excelling in his work with students with disabilities. Mr. Goldberger has also served as President of his local chapter of Council for Exceptional Children.

Augmenting communication, using functional assessments of behavior and applying structured teaching strategies are all in a days work for Mr. Goldberger. Joey also is known for his willingness to be involved in and assist with students and families outside the classroom. He views his relationships with families as being an important way to improve the quality of his teaching skills.

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Greta Palmberg - Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Greta Palmberg is an instructor/advisor in the Vocational Education Community Transition Occupational Relations program (VECTOR) through the Minnesota Intermediate District 287 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. VECTOR's mission is to provide transition services to young adults with disabilities as they progress from an educational setting toward living and working independently in their community. Ms. Palmberg teaches transition classes to young adults with disabilities and serves as advisor to students who are deaf/hard of hearing.

Ms. Palmberg has developed curriculum on a variety of topics for her students including classes designed for preparing for college, sex education and reading skills coursework. Ms. Palmberg also developed and teaches a Deaf Seminar with community participation to teach skills and provide information about the American Disabilities Act, Social Security and Social Security Income, interpreter services and social skills in the work place. She also teaches recreation and leisure classes such as quilting and fishing.

After receiving her Master in Education from the University of Illinois, Ms. Palmberg completed the coursework necessary to obtain teacher certification in deaf/hard of hearing. She is a lifelong learner, continuing to take classes and attend training opportunities.

Ms. Palmberg brings a unique point of view to her work with special needs students because she is also the parent of young man with a profound hearing loss. She feels that some of her most valuable lessons have been learned from being on the other side of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meeting table.

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Melissa Park - Fairfax, Virginia
Melissa Park is a non-categorical special education preschool teacher in the Little Run Elementary School with Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia. Ms Park teaches children age 2-5 with developmental disabilities, including Cerebral Palsy, autism and mental retardation.

Ms. Park received a Masters degree in Special Education from Old Dominion University. She is presently enrolled in a doctoral program at the George Washington University, Washington, DC. Ms. Park became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2002.

Ms. Park works to develop strong home-school connections for the families in her program. She visits in homes, day cares and other settings to work with caregivers to ensure continuity of the educational program throughout the day. Following 9/11, Ms. Park worked closely with the family of one of her students whose father died at the Pentagon. One of the ways she assisted was to develop a book that helped this student talk about and better understand his father's death.

Ms. Park was instrumental in helping her district find ways to provide a10 week parent training program. Within her classroom, Melissa's philosophy is one of meeting children where they currently are developmentally, and then scaffolding their learning in order to support them as they move forward.

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Larry Statler - San Jose, CA
Larry Statler has been a leader and teacher in the Oak Grove School District in San Jose, CA for over 30 years. In that time, he has filled a variety of special education roles. Currently, Mr. Statler teaches fully included pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade students in the Discovery Program classroom at Santa Teresa Elementary School. Discovery is an award-winning program model of collaboration between general and special educators engineered and orchestrated to serve students who have been unsuccessful in other settings. For many of these students, Discover is considered to be the last stop before residential placements are sought.

Mr. Statler completed a Masters Degree program in Education of the Exceptional Child from San Francisco State University. He also holds teacher certification in Learning Handicapped and Severely Handicapped. He has recently been an adjunct faculty member at Santa Clara University where he taught mainstreaming and full inclusion classes. Mr. Statler has written over 30 grants to benefit the Discovery Program and Santa Teresa Elementary School.

Mr. Statler has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Walt Disney American Teacher award, the USA Today for the All USA First Team Teaching Award and the California Council of Exceptional Children 2002 Exemplary Teacher Award.

Larry sees parents of his students as a vital component of the Discovery Program. Parents of special needs students, as well as parents of general education students see the benefits of having their children work together and help to develop a sense of community for this classroom.

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Margaret Wilson - Longmont, Colorado
Margaret Wilson is employed by Valley School District, Longmont, Colorado. Ms. Wilson is a resource teacher at the Niwot Elementary School, providing literacy and numeracy instruction for students in kindergarten through 5th grade. She also is a Behavior and Curriculum Consultant for this full inclusion school and serves as co-chair on the districts Severe Behavior and Communication Needs Team.

Ms. Wilson has presented at numerous national, state and local conferences, as well served as the Coordinator of the 2000 Summer Autism Conference funded by the Colorado Department of Education. She edited and co-authored a "Toolkit for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders".

Ms. Wilson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979 from the University of North Colorado. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her abilities in developing and implementing effective programming for students with severe communication and behavior needs.

Margaret adopted two special needs children, Brian and Stephanie, who she takes great pleasure in and considers to be her heroes. She is a life long humanitarian, striving to bring fair practices and equality to all members of the community.

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Edwina Coen Young - Raleigh, NC
Edwina Coen Young is currently teaching in Raleigh, NC at Leesville Road Middle School as a reading teacher in the exceptional children's program.

Ms. Young attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education. She is currently working towards her Masters in Cross-categorical Special Education through the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Ms. Young has received several local awards and recognitions and in 2002, became a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. She now serves as a mentor for teachers seeking National Board Certification.

Edwina incorporates technology in her classroom. Her students worked to develop a powerful a presentation after the September 11th tragedy using Power Point. The project was showcased to school staff and at a school board meeting.

In 2004, Edwina was a DisneyHands Teacher Award Nominee. She also applied for and received the Innovative Educator Grant. This money was used to start a school store business for her students in the Occupational Course of Study Program. In 2005, she was recognized in Who's Who Among American Teachers.

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Michelle Zirngibl - Pennsylvania
Michelle Zirnginbl developed and teaches in the High School Life Skills Support program in the Upper Saint Clair school district in Pennsylvania. One of the areas the Life Skills Support classroom focuses on is vocational training and work placements ranging from supported training within the school district, to competitive job sites such as the local grocery store or childcare facility.

In response to parental concerns, Ms. Zirngibl developed an after-school leisure/recreation group called F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Finding Relationships in Every New Direction. This program involves her students and about 30 peers in a variety of community leisure activities.

Ms. Zirngibl attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She is currently working on a Masters degree in School Counseling from the California University of Pennsylvania.

Michelle is known for the way she is continually generating new ideas. She is keenly focused on meeting her students needs and responded to a situation by developing a unit of instruction that helped her students prepare meals and deliver them to a family that was experiencing a terminal illness.