in the neighborhood
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pecial ed teachers, across the board, just don’t get the props they deserve. You want to talk about hard work, dedication, selflessness, creativity, patience, and ingenuity? That’s what defines educators in the special ed classrooms of the Roanoke Valley and throughout the country. The GRAND Home Furnishings educator of the month is Alisa Downey, a fourth- and fifth-grade special ed teacher at Oak Grove Elementary in Roanoke County. Alisa’s classroom is different from any other at Oak Grove; instead of glaring, fluorescent overhead lights, the room is illuminated warmly with lamplight. She has painted parts of the room in pleasing colors, decorated it to be a more inviting space, and installed kick bands on the chairs for fidgety feet. “I want the kids to want to come to me,” she explained. “I want them to know that this is a good, calm place where we come to accomplish our goals together.” Alisa has been teaching special education for 14 years. These are the students, she said, who are often overlooked and underserved, and so she knew the special ed classroom was where she wanted to be. “I love those kids and being able to show them that someone cares about them, someone’s on their side. I love figuring out how we, in the education system, can meet each of them where they are.” Working with children has been Alisa’s
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Educator of the Month
Alisa Downey
focus since college. She majored in youth ministry, and later got her master’s in special education. “It’s amazing to help the kids see that they can do hard things, they can be successful. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and there is beauty in everyone.” Guiding her students to that realization, she said, is what she loves most about the job.
“Kids will start off the year complaining that they can’t do the work, that it’s too hard — then, in a couple weeks, they’ll catch themselves and start to say, ‘I know, Mrs. Downey, I can do hard things.” We all do hard things every day, Alisa said, even as adults. We can do those things; we just have to know it’s okay to fight through it and not give up. “Working hard and overcoming obstacles makes us stronger people. It gives us confidence. And it’s the same for these kids.” For her students, those hard things might be figuring out how to process or verbalize their emotions, or to do a math problem, or to read certain words. Alisa is there to help them work through it. “I am their champion,” she said. The most rewarding part of being a special ed teacher, said Alisa, is the relationships formed with her students. “I love coming to school every day and giving them big, fat hugs. I love hearing about their lives, laughing with them, crying with them, being silly with them, working hard with them.” They’re her kids, she said, more than just her students.
What did you want to be when you were a kid? An architect! I loved drawing floorplans for fun.
What would your students be surprised to know about you? I played saxophone when I was a kid.
What’s your favorite kind of music? Jazz! I’m always listening to the Bebop Jazz station on Pandora.
What book are you reading right now? I’m in the middle of The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware. I like mysteries!
is proud to sponsor the
TEACHER MONTH of the
The winning teacher receives a $100 gift card from Grand Home Furnishings!
www.grandhomefurnishings.com Valley View | Tanglewood | Christiansburg | Lynchburg Family/June 201943