Barb McLaughlin
Chebanse Elementary
Chebanse, IL

"My classroom is unique in the sense that the students are very diverse in their levels of cognitive, physical, social, perceptual, and language development. One of my deep-seated beliefs is that all children can and will learn, given the opportunity. I help them to achieve this by creating situations in which they can be successful and then building upon that success with more successful experiences."

"You have taken my child who couldn't talk very well and who didn't have a lot of interests, and turned him into a real boy! Maybe he didn't meet all his IEP goals, but he sure surpassed many of the personal goals I had for him. Every day I think of how grateful I am that there are wonderful teachers out there who can help children that nobody else can reach. You truly make a difference."

Barbara approaches each student in a unique and personal way in order to ensure that she connects with them and that they are truly able to take ownership of what they learn. She creates experiences for her classes that allow them to learn about their worlds and also about expressing themselves. One lesson involved visiting a wetland to observe wildlife as part of an ecosystem. Another focused on her students writing a letter to the Department of Transportation to share their opinions about building on Native American burial grounds. Barbara aims to give her students a sense of ownership by allowing them a voice in the subject matter and by structuring the lessons so they are relevant to her students' lives.

Other Highlights:

• Recipient of a First of America Competitive Educational Grant for motivating students to write
• Recipient of an area Target Scholarship for advanced education
• Co-developed and taught Recycling: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Summer literacy tutor for elementary & middle school students
• Special Olympics volunteer
• Active in her church - from sunday school superintendent and teacher to serving as the financial secretary and singing in the choir
• Coach of girl's Little League softball team
• 4-H Leader and Youth Advisory Council member
• Also has taught kindergarten and 1st grades
• Grew up on a farm taking care of livestock and grain