This is the nomination letter my supervisor submitted:
If you had told me, five
years ago, that students with significant cognitive disabilities would be able
to attend and participate in a virtual school; I would have told you that it
was impossible. That was before I met Tabitha Pacheco. Tabitha has found a way to make
our school accessible to all students, even students who may not have the means
to communicate in a typical way or who may come to us unable to access any grade level
curriculum.
If a student cannot access grade
level curriculum in an online classroom, Tabitha reads a grade level book to
them while they create a visual story board based on what they are hearing. If a
student cannot communicate in a typical manner, Tabitha
takes a trip to UAAACT with the family to explore
options. Tabitha currently has a student with severe
Autism and a cognitive disability who is learning
to communicate using Proloquo2go and an iPod touch. This
year, Tabitha had also had a student with a cognitive disability recognized for
her academics by the Utah Council of Exceptional
Children.
There is no better
advocate for our students than Tabitha Pacheco. If a student
wants to take a high school elective class, she
makes it happen. If a student needs to learn how
to cook a microwave dinner, she gets out the web cam and meets with parent and
student to make it happen. When we realized we had a gap for our high school life skills
programs, she researched online curriculum and found the Conover software, which
she now uses to teach an independent living/life skills
class at the high school. She works with paraprofessionals, parents, and
counselors to make sure that each one of her students has the tools they need
to succeed. We are all lucky to know and work with Tabitha Pacheco, and I know
that she has influenced the lives of many families and students
enrolled in our program for the better!
Submitted by
Shelly Strahan
Utah Virtual Academy
2 comments:
Congrats! I was just telling someone the other day about virtual schools and when I mentioned I had a friend that did it with students with significant disabilities they were asking how that was done and I didn't really know what to tell them, but it was cool reading your nomination letter and what you do.
CONGRATULATIONS! I can't think of anyone more deserving than you!
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