"I do not know what I should do without Teacher."
                                                                       ---Helen Keller
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Jenna Magee Receives the 25th Annie Sullivan Award

Jenna Magee was honored with the Annie Sullivan Award at the May 23, 2012 Board of Directors meeting at Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV (MIU IV). Jenna has served as an autistic support teacher for MIU IV for the past 10 years. She is the 25th recipient of this Award named for Helen Keller’s teacher and established by the IU’s Labor and Management Committee to recognize an educator who shows care, concern and skill in helping students with special needs gain acceptance in their schools and communities. She was nominated for this honor by her colleagues.

“Jenna is a very dedicated and passionate advocate and teacher,” said Cecelia H. Yauger, MIU IV Executive Director. “She continually seeks opportunities to educate all teachers, community members, partners, and students in the acceptance and understanding of students with differing abilities.”

Jenna’s classroom is located at Mercer Area Middle/High School. There, she created the’ Room 10’ Senior Buddy Volunteer Program. Through this program, Mercer seniors volunteer in her classroom during their study hall, and are given tasks, errands, or assignments to complete with Jenna’s students—their buddies. This year between 15 and 20 seniors participated in the program. It has been a great success and has proved to be beneficial to the seniors as well as the autistic students. The senior buddies carry what they have learned from working with the autistic kids into their lives ahead. Some students have actually chosen to go to college to work in the area of autism due to their experiences in Room 10.

" The popularity of the Senior Buddy Volunteer Program has exceeded our expectations. Jenna goes above and beyond when it comes to the needs of her students and staff,” wrote her teaching assistants, Ruthie Hazlett and Margaret Zets. “Our kids are social and well-accepted by staff and students at Mercer. Jenna also makes our classroom known throughout the district.”

The Room 10 seniors usually attend the Mercer Prom escorted by a Mercer senior who volunteers to go as their date. One example of the bond between Room 10 and Mercer Area Middle/High School is that one of Jenna’s senior boys was nominated and crowned Prom King this year.

Mrs. Magee is well respected by not only her students, but also by her colleagues and peers. Room 10 students know that she expects them to do their best; they also know that she exemplifies these expectations in her own life. She expects them to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions, maximize their own potential and leave a positive impact upon their world.

“I can tell you that Mrs. Magee is well known by her peers, students, and parents for her dedication to providing the best possible education to whomever enters her classroom,” said Timothy Dadich, Principal & Coordinator of Special Education. "Mrs. Magee works with students with many needs above and beyond what the typical class might require. There have been moments of concern and triumph, tears and smiles, obstacles and clear pathways, but there has never been a moment where Mrs. Magee has considered giving up.”

“She proves each and every day that ALL students can learn if given the opportunity and support necessary to reach their personal goals,” continued Mr. Dadich. “Her students have gone on to post-secondary training and even to being voted prom king. This is possible because she cares so much about making sure her students become a regular part of our student body.”

Mrs. Magee’s students are accepted in all phases of school life. Under her guidance, her students have been invited to participate as captain of the football team, attend the prom, go to sporting and drama events, and obtain jobs in the community.

“Since my first day in November of 2011, Jenna welcomed me into her unique classroom community, offering support and advice through the various challenges inherent in working with children on the autistic spectrum,” said Levi B. Sanchez, TSS Worker. “Jenna’s classroom is full of seven very different young men who live with autism. Each has unique academic and social difficulties that Jenna addresses on a truly individual basis. She cares for each student, taking the extra time to develop personalized strategies for dealing with the ever-changing needs of the boys in her classroom. In addition to the responsibility of teaching, Jenna also expertly coordinates the efforts of the teacher’s aides, a speech teacher, a TSS worker, a student teacher, and a score of high school volunteers. As a result, Room 10 works like a well-oiled machine, offering the very best educational experience for the students.”

Mrs. Magee is a regular speaker/advocate for her students both in the school district and at local colleges. She also serves in various capacities in her community, both as a volunteer and on the boards of Club Pet (a no-kill animal rescue shelter) as well as the Grove City Food Pantry.

“Jenna Magee arrives early, stays late, and does mounds of paper work at home,” said Deborah Nichols, Speech & Language Therapist for MIU IV. “But she is not only a dedicated and a gifted teacher but a visionary as well. The ripple effect of the Room 10 Buddy program is without measure. Jenna Magee has spearheaded a program where a whole educational community is invested in ALL students, one at a time, as they invest in each other.”

“Mrs. Magee’s commitment to education is unsurpassed and her relationships with businesses across several communities strengthens IU connections for Community-Based Vocational Training,” continued Ms. Nichols. “She empowers her students to leave high school with the best possible foundation for transition into the world of work. For those of us who have worked in this program, we agree with the young lady who said, upon graduation, ‘My life will always be different because of Room 10’.”

“Jenna is an exemplary teacher,” said Anne Crowe, Jenna’s Program Supervisor at MIU IV. “Her technical skill as a teacher is without parallel, but, as importantly, are her skills as an advocate and champion for her students.”

> Download the 2012 Annie Sullivan Program and read more about Jenna

> Read about Jenna in Views & Voices