As Spring Break comes to a close and we gear up for the end of the school year, we’re continuing to celebrate our incredible faculty and staff! In this month’s We Are Wolf interview, learn more about our Teacher Assistant, Connie Muir!
1. Can you tell us a bit about your background before coming to Wolf?
Before Wolf, I worked in a public school district in MA with mostly elementary students for 30+ years. Shortly after I started, the then SPED director realized my connection with the growing population of special education students so she encouraged my continued education in classes regarding sensory needs, learning differences, differentiated instruction, and eventually behavioral issues, and ABA.
2. What have you most enjoyed about working at Wolf so far?
What I enjoy about Wolf is the multi-sensory approach to teaching. I enjoy the OT and Speech Therapist weaving their approaches into academics. I believe that movement helps with focus and behaviors so I love seeing the younger students scooting up and down the corridors learning math. I particularly enjoyed when I taught plate tectonics to students using the rock wall to identify continents and when I taught convergent and divergent concepts in the sensory arena with the mats.
3. What do you think sets Wolf apart from other schools?
My experience is long but limited to one public school district, but what I think sets Wolf apart from my past few years is the respect that is displayed between Wolf staff and students. I think this respect emerges from the collaboration between teachers, specialists, and parents.
4. What made you interested in working with Complex Learners?
After the suggestion from my SPED Director, I started working with only Complex Learners in the public school and what has kept me passionate about it for this long is twofold. First, they have so much to teach me and I love being exposed to their perspective. Their interpretations often expand my thinking out of the box. Secondly, I enjoy the challenge of finding out how to reach their cache of knowledge and watch them excitingly make connections.
5. Where has been your favorite place that you’ve ever visited or vacationed?
My favorite vacation was when some friends and I rented a bareboat charter and sailed the islands of Trinidad, Barbados, and St Vincent to the tip of South America. Nothing like eating local seafood on a gently rocking sailboat with the vibrant colors of a sunset!!
Welcome to Wolf, Connie! We are so grateful to have you at Wolf and for the incredible connections you’ve already made with students and staff! To learn more about other Wolf Staff, read some of our past We Are Wolf interviews!