In our Schools: Michelle Heckman

I grew up in: Mount Vernon, N.Y.

I now live in: Wyomissing.

Family: Husband, George; twin boys, Josh and Sean.

Education: Ursuline School, New Rochelle, N.Y.; Albright College; Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; Cabrini University, Radnor.

How I spend my free time: I truly enjoy spending time with my boys and taking them anywhere and everywhere. Over the summer, we never have a free weekend, traveling to Sesame Place, Dutch Wonderland, Crayola Factory, Hershey and of course the beach. We travel to New York as frequently as possible to visit family and friends. I also love to run 5Ks and have run a marathon and several half marathons. At this time in my life, my free time revolves around my kids, and that’s just fine with me.

Teacher who inspired me: I can remember several of my elementary school teachers who I aspired to be when I was a child: my first-grade teacher, Lynn Aquilina; and my second-grade teacher, Cheryl Bregman. Both left an indelible mark on my love for teaching. They made me want to come to school each and every day, causing me to have perfect attendance for five years.

What inspired me to choose life-skills support: The field of special education kind of chose me. After I graduated from college, I actually taught preschool for a year before I decided to go back for my special education degree. In the time I received my special education certification, I began working with an agency that provided one-on-one behavioral assistance for children with special needs. Each child that I was assigned to happened to have a diagnosis of autism. As I got to know each child, I realized how very different each child’s needs were. I became a woman on a mission, striving to find what worked for each and every child. I then became the teacher of my very first special needs classroom, which was low-level autistic support. As time went on, classrooms change, and I have currently been teaching in a life skills support setting for the past 12 years, and I love every second of it. Each day brings a new challenge and you realize that the small things really are the things that matter.

Funniest classroom moment: As a special education teacher of children with multiple disabilities, there are many wonderfully funny moments throughout the day that just make you smile. On one particular day, I had a little boy who decided to sit on my lap during story time. As I was reading, he kept laughing and turning around to look at me. He was a student with autism, a little big for his age, and as he was laughing and turning around, we lost our balance and fell to the floor. The other students interpreted that as a group hug, and the next thing I know we are all sitting on the floor hugging and giggling.

If I weren’t an educator, I’d be: Before I became a classroom teacher, I was a one-on-one special educator, and I have always wanted to go back and have a career in early intervention special education. However, if I were not in the field of teaching, I think I would love to work for Make-A-Wish Foundation, not only to have a hand in granting those amazing wishes, but getting to know the wonderful families and their children.

You might not know: I am a bit of a perfectionist … and with that comes my love of and ability to do calligraphy, even as a left-hander. I took many art classes throughout my schooling, and always thought that one day I would do something within that field or profession.

In Our Schools is a weekly feature spotlighting teachers and administrators educating students in Berks and Tri-County schools.