Indian Creekteacher livesservice before self

By KELSEY RETTKE |krettke@shawmedia.com

StephanieSnider says she likes to approach life, and work, in the service of others.

She’s takenthatapproach for thepast14 years working in special education at Indian Creek High School in Shabbona.

“I’ve always been aproponent of just serving people, and being aservant leader and just showing people the compassion and grace that Ifeel like people have bestowed to me in the past,” Snider said.

At Indian Creek, Snider teaches all levels of high school. Unlike more traditional approaches to special education, Snider’s students get afully inclusive approach to their school.Theyattend thesame classes as their peers, and Snider co-teaches thewholeclassroom while helping make sure herstudents with special needs manage their Individualized Education Program goals.

The daughter of alongtime teacher, Snider grewupinthe Planoareaand didn’t find her educatorfootingimmediately.

“I kind of resisted the whole field,” Snider said. “My mom was ateacher in Somonauk andI think that was why I resisted it for so long, because Isaw that it’s not an easy profession. It seems glamorous andyou have your summers at home, but you don’t get your summers off. It’s not as easy as that.”

As an Eastern Illinois University undergraduate student, Snider initiallypursued broadcastjournalism. Shedecidedonadifferentpath after a professor told her the long odds of communications graduates finding jobs in their field.

By the end of her freshmanyear, Snider said, she instead settled on special education, rekindled by an experience years before as astudent at Plano High School.

“They had aprogram [where] I would volunteer in athird grade classroom every other day,” Snidersaid. “I worked one-on-one with alittlegirl who had just moved into the district from CPU [Chicago Public Schools] and it was very apparent that she had some large gaps in her education.”

As ahigh school senior, Snider worked closely with the child to better develop her primary skills, an experience she considers as pivotaltoher career.

“It was amazing even as an 18-yearold to have that impact on that little girl and be able to teach her the skillset that she was missing,” Snider said.

While pursuing special education, Snider student-taught and then worked as akindergarten and first grade diagnostic teacher with Kendall County Special EducationCooperative. Soon after, she was hired in Yorkville schools but realized she wanted to pursue an older-aged classroom, which led her to Indian Creek High School.

“I think that’s kind of my sweet spot, honestly,” Snider said. “There’s something magical that happensbetween that sophomore and junior year. They kind of morph into these young adults that have goals and aspirations and are looking toward the future. Ireally like being able to form relationships at that age level.”

As ahighschool special education teacher, Snider jugglesacaseload of about 13 students, and teaches two freshmen English classes, ajunior and senior English class, worldgeography and modern America, and ahistory class.

At Indian Creek, the co-teaching model stands as atestament to inclusive learning, said high school princi-

Photos provided pal K.C. McCarty, who heralded Snider’s work.

At Indian Creek High School, StephanieSnider teachesall gradelevels. Unlike moretraditional approaches to specialeducation, Snider’s students getafully inclusiveapproach to their school. They attend thesame classesastheir peers, and Snider co-teachesthe whole classroom while helpingmakesureher students withspecialneedsmanage theirIndividualized EducationProgram goals.

“Stephanie has taken alead in bringinga co-teachingmodel to our high school,” McCarty said. “Stephanie is consistently working with all of our students to provide them with the supportand accommodationsnecessary to be successful.”

In herfreshman English class, for example, three out of the 19 students also receive special education components to their daily work. But they sit in on the regular classes like their peers.

Snider called that approach huge.

“I think we have seen huge growth not only academically but socially for our kids,” Snider said. “Not having that stigma of always being pulled out of the classroom. Ithink it’s been agreat learning opportunity for the students thatare just in the regular classroom also. We see alot of collaboration among our students helping each other out.”

McCarty said Snider’s also spent the past three schoolyears serving as a cheerleader to her colleagues, creating abirthday party day for all the staff, a 12-days-of-Christmas program, daylong bingo and other morale-boosting activities.

Snidercalled it theSunshineCommittee, and said she’s been doing it for the better part of adecade at the high school.

Snider, who calls Somonauk home with her husband,Eric, and twochildren, 10-year-old Clara and 12-year-old Porter, said apositive attitudeisher way of giving back.

“I’m amom and awife, and Ijust want folks to know that as difficultas our job is and especially the last couple years, we are making adifference.”