 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Frances Duff of Cibola High School has been awarded the 2008 TASH/Wal-Mart Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Teacher of the Year Award. She accepted the award at the TASH conference in December. Her award letter states that "the purpose of this award is to honor important and courageous contributions of individuals in advancing inclusive education and equitable opportunities for students pre-school through 12th grade, particularly those with the most significant disabilities and support needs." She says the award "means a great deal to me as including student with disabilities in general education is my passion and the impetus behind my continued schooling and my advocacy efforts." She also wants to recognize the roles that Sherry Jones, Head Teacher, and Elena Salazar, Principal have played in her work. "Without their support, this award could not have happened. 
Her biography that she sent to TASH follows: I have been teaching since 1970. I left for a few years believing that I could build a better career in the business world. What I learned from that experience is that teaching was a passion for me and that no other career could inspire or sustain me. I achieved National Board Certification in 2001. I arrived in New Mexico after living on both coasts and in the Midwest. It was here that I encountered a new understanding of the discrepancies that existed between students in special education and their typical peers. When I discovered that there were students with disabilities who were segregated from the students I was teaching, I found myself dismayed by the injustice that seemed to be ingrained in the system. Working with a colleague, Veronica Moore, I was able to include students with significant disabilities in my classes and from there I became a cheerleader, and some might say an agitator, for inclusive education. Following my heart, I enrolled in the University of New Mexico, earned my M.A. in Special Education, and continue in the Ph.D. program today. My dream for my profession is that one day the designation of “inclusive teacher” will be abandoned, because the title of teacher will reflect a person who embraces all students without regard to differences in ability, class, culture, or ethnicity.
|
|
