Early Childhood (Ages 0-5)

Jennifer Ormerod is a special education teacher for students in Kindergarten through 3rd grades at Hiawatha Elementary School in Essex Junction, Vermont. Jennifer started her career 25 years ago as an Early Childhood Special Educator and taught 3-5 year olds in a variety of Vermont’s inclusive preschool settings for several years. During that time she had an incredible opportunity to receive advanced training in Autism through the Vermont Rural Autism Project.

In her 28th in education, Cathy Wojcik has taught in various early childhood special education settings (ECSE), including Self-Contained ECSE, Reverse Inclusion ECSE, Inclusive PreK, and Itinerant/Community Based. She also served on the Evaluation Team for PreK and is currently an ECSE Autism teacher. Cathy holds a BS in Special Education from Penn State University and M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education.

Katie Billmeier is a special education teacher teacher at Woodcliff Preschool in Grand Rapids Michigan. She also taught kindergarten, third, fourth, and fifth grades in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri. She believes that being a special education teacher is the most wonderful and rewarding job ever, and although you will work harder than you ever imagined, it is 100% worth it.

Ann Thompson is a teacher consultant for the deaf and hard of hearing for children from birth to 3 years old at the Northview School District in Grand Rapids Michigan. She helps children with the transition to preschool by working individually with students at school or at home, teaching sign language to students, teachers, support staff and parents at school or at home, and consulting with teachers, support staff, parents and students on an individual basis. Her advice to young professionals considering a career in special education? Get into schools and see what's happening! Watch Ann's video to learn more about how she works with children in early childhood.

Carly Gedra-Kaloper is a preschool teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this video, she shares what she loves about being a special educator and offers advice for new teachers during their first few years of teaching.