Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54

Deanne DiDomenico has been teaching in Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54's Blended Program for 17 years.

She joined the district after graduating from National Louis University, where she received a bachelor's degree in early childhood education with a special education endorsement. She's since received a masters in curriculum and instruction with an ESL endorsement.

Q: What attracted you to teaching young children with developmental challenges?

A: Before I started college, I worked in an allergist's office as a receptionist. A little boy came in and he was very anxious. No one could get him out from under the table to enter the doctor's office. I approached him, talked with him, calmed him, and was able to get him ready for the appointment. At that point, I knew I wanted to work with young children as a career.

While going to school to become an Early Childhood Educator, I was working at a local day care. A new student had started in the 4-year-old classroom. He was delayed in all areas of development and the current teachers did not know how to support him in the classroom.

I began doing research and really enjoyed working with the student. This made me want to go into special education, in addition to Early Childhood education, to help support children at all developmental levels.

Q: What's something about teaching children with developmental challenges that is not generally understood or would come as a surprise to people outside your field?

A: This work is fun and rewarding, and every day is different yet the same.

Students with developmental challenges have as much potential as what one may see as the "typical" student. Our goal is to support the discovery of the student's strengths and maximize their potential. The teacher's job is to determine the best techniques to support them in their learning.

All students are so different, it is often a challenge to figure out what which technique will best support each individual child. Sometimes it's as easy as giving wait time when having them answer questions or vocalizing.

The most important aspect is to have students try a new strategy for a good length of time. It might take 4-6 weeks before a strategy truly begins to help the student. When you see children make small gains it's a celebration for everyone involved, including staff, other students and the family.

Working a blended program, which includes students that have a diagnosed disability and those who do not, the students learn from each other and celebrate each other's growth. The young children recognize the celebration, big and small. It warms your heart.

Q: How do you measure outcomes and success when evaluating the progress of the children you teach? Is it different than students without these challenges?

A: We measure all students' progress by collecting information based on the Illinois Learning Standards and ELS (Early Learning Scale). These tools focus on what each child should be mastering at their particular age.

Lesson planning for a student's growth and development throughout the year is individualized to meet their unique needs. Successes are celebrated all the time in our classroom. Positive behavior is rewarded by our Super Sprout program, which is a part of PBIS in our school.

I send emails or make phone calls to parents sharing new skills students have acquired. We measure and celebrate the gains of all students, continuously pushing our students to meet their maximum potential.

Q: Regardless of challenges, kids are kids. How do you incorporate play time into your classroom sessions?

A: Our program at the ELC incorporates one hour of uninterrupted play every day into the 2½-hour program. Developmentally, this time in a child's life is very important. Eighty-five percent of brain development occurs before age 5; their brain is developing and making connections throughout the day.

During play, adults interact with students to expand their expressive and receptive language, as well as build their vocabulary. As they are investigating, students are becoming risk takers, increasing social skills such as expressing feelings and sharing, building knowledge and increasing academic skills.

Play also increases confidence, memory, compassion and motor skills. Challenges during play build negotiation skills and problem solving. Play is learning.