Published: November 22, 2008 02:06 am            

Grant Line aide picked for top support employee in NAFC

Six-year-old Drake De Wilde may not have much to say about his special education aide, Claudia Rogers, but his smile tells her wonders.

“There is not a better place to work than here, at Grant Line Elementary, with these special children,” Rogers said smiling as De Wilde played a learning game on the computer. “It helps me to grow and it helps them to grow, too.”

De Wilde is one of Rogers’ students. He has Down syndrome and is mostly non-verbal. So, Rogers is working on teaching him words along with sign language, something she is learning herself.

“He’s a bright little boy like most special needs children are,” she said. “They just need time from someone to teach them.”

Her time and dedication spent helping special needs children is what helped her earn Educational Support Employee of

the Year for the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp.

“I had no idea, none at all!” Rogers said laughing with glee.

Though she may have not seen the award coming, others did.

“I can’t imagine anyone else more deserving of this honor,” said Mary Kay Mattingly, who teaches second grade at Grant Line. “Her time, energy and talents are willingly shared with all. Her positive-caring manner makes a difference to every child she touches.”

Each school within the corporation nominates one person to be the school-level winner. Those then compete for the corporation-wide title.

Leland Lang, principal at Grant Line, said this is the first time a school support employee won the corporation title.

“We were very excited,” Lang said. “We couldn’t do the job we do today, educating children, without those [educational support] people.”

Rogers said she started off with NAFC as a volunteer, then a primary aide for seven years and a special education aide for the past three years.

She said the job requires lots of patience and love, something given to her from above. She said the rewards come in small steps.

“Special needs children work two to three times harder than other children to learn things. And it’s the little steps,” Rogers said, pausing and smiling as she watched De Wilde work with a clay project. “You look for the little things every day.”

        

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