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Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards
Mary Woitas
Columbus West School
Cicero, Illinois
Special Education
“People need to change their attitude towards students with special needs. Our students can and do learn,” declares Mary Woitas, special education teacher at Columbus West School in Cicero. She intends to be the force that changes those minds, working endlessly with her group of 3- to 7-year-olds. She won’t give up on her students who frequently miss class for medical attention. She’ll talk and sing all day, though some of her children cannot speak or hear. She knows her students have severe and profound disabilities, but she’s still able to teach them.
With the belief that her students should receive the same quality of instruction the other children their age receive, Mary conducts her classroom in age-typical math and alphabet lessons with an impressive ability to read each student’s rhythm. “What makes Mary special is her intuitive nature,” says Erica Okezie-Phillips, Program Officer in Education at the McCormick Tribune Foundation. “She connects with the children in ways only a good teacher does, by reading their cues and responding in ways that meet them where they are.” Working calmly and never rushing, she elicits smiles with recorded music and voices, visual stimulation with stuffed animals, and her favorite group activity – singing with the autoharp. All the while, she is able to speak with a few students in sign language and send subtle cues to her assistants without missing a beat.
Though she originally aspired to become a nurse, Mary can’t imagine not working in early childhood with her special group. “I love children, and early childhood is when kids meet their first formal teacher,” she explained. “You have to be happy at what you do, and I love what I do. I couldn’t go back to teaching mainstream students.” To go back now would mean leaving behind her students, and leaving many adults to think no one could help them.
Mary knows she’s taken on a challenging mission, and she’s worked hard to build a knowledgeable and supportive team around her. Her program assistants and therapists are constantly present to ensure the children’s comfort, and she is constantly studying disabilities and educating her colleagues in what she discovers. “Mary is the ‘guru’ of the early childhood department,” declares Shannon Cribaro-Difatta, site director at Columbus West. “When we have questions, we can always turn to her. Mary shares everything she has learned at outside classes, seminars, and workshops.” Her relationship with parents involves a lot of communication and understanding. “I’ve come to respect what parents of my students go through,” Mary says. “But I’ve been very lucky to work with great ones.”
As patient and nurturing as a good nurse, Mary Woitas has discovered her true calling among the youngest children in Columbus West’s special education program. She believes a good teacher can look beyond cognitive and physical impairment to reach each student’s true potential, and her colleagues could not be more inspired. “Mary is our special education leader,” Shannon says. “We would be lost without her.”
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