Anthony Cacciotti

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

 I graduated from Slippery Rock in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education: Social Studies with a minor in Special Education. I am currently in my third year of teaching at my Alma mater: Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown, PA. I teach 8^th Grade Pennsylvania History and 11^th Grade U.S. History II.

 

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

 Although my major was Social Studies education, I had really great experiences with Special Education! During my time at SRU, I helped with the Special Olympics and absolutely loved the experience. I still try to help with the Special Olympics back home in Johnstown. I was also involved in a program called the Transition Assistance Program at SRU. Two to three days of the week, students from local high schools with learning disabilities were on campus to complete daily tasks. Students would work on their physical, emotional, and nutritional lifestyle. I had a great experience every time I helped out with the Transition Assistance Program!

 

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

 Professor John Hicks! Dr. Hick’s is an awesome individual and a fantastic teacher and leader. I went out of my way to take his courses while I was at SRU. Dr. Hick’s is extremely approachable as not only an educator but a person as well. I enjoyed talking with him about education and sports. He made scheduling classes enjoyable and easy.

 

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

 My parents are both educators and actually both attended Slippery Rock University to get their education degrees! They helped me in every step of earning my degree and my teaching experience. From a young age, I saw how much they enjoyed their occupations, so I decided to follow in their footsteps. It’s also very nice to have weekends, holidays, and summers off!

 

5. What do you love most about teaching?

 The process of student learning and building relationships with students! It’s an amazing feeling when you assess a student on material they have learned and they understand it. Education can sometimes fall into a pattern of rote memorization. I strive to have my students work on their critical thinking skills and problem solving skills. I also coach football, basketball, and baseball at Bishop McCort, so it makes building relationships with students much easier!

 

6. What makes a great teacher?

 A great teacher is a great person! An educator may see students for 7 hours of the day, but has no idea what their students are doing the rest of the day. In those 7 hours, teachers should do their best to make their students better scholars and better individuals. A great teacher is an understanding teacher. You may not know what students are going through at home or outside of school. Teachers should always be understanding of their students and always want to help in any way possible. Teachers can be role models that exemplify good behavior and maturity which students can see and strive to do the same.

 

Lauren Shoup

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I earned my undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Carlow. I’m a special education teacher at Donaldson Elementary in the West Allegheny School District. Prior to this, I taught high school learning support at Fort Cherry High School.

 

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

Graduation day was an unforgettable experience at the Rock for me. I had just given birth to my first son, and he was there to witness his mom earning her Masters.

 

3. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

In high school, I spent my free periods volunteering in the Life Skills classroom. I knew I wanted to make special education my career.

 

4. What do you love most about teaching?

I love the relationships I've built with the families I work with and our community. Through my role, I've taken on extra duties that have really allowed me to make our neighborhood a better place.

 

5. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher cares about the development of a whole child, and can recognize the importance of meeting student needs that aren't always educational.

Katie Johnston

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I have my dual certification and bachelor degree in early childhood education and special education with a minor in leadership through Slippery Rock University. I loved SRU so much that I also completed my masters in special education - autism through SRU.  This will be my fifth year teaching in Pennsylvania. I taught special education for three years at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Academy (K-2) and one year as an elementary autistic support teacher (5th-6th) at Crawford Central. This year I will be stepping away from special education to be a kindergarten teacher in the same school district. 

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

There are too many great SRU experiences to pick just one. However, from those experiences I will never forget how great of a home SRU was for 5 years, the lessons I learned, or the friendships that I made during. 

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

It is so hard to name only one professor. I absolutely loved and looked up to the entire Special Education Department. The names that stick out the most are Dr. Erickson, Dr. Mild, Dr. Merhaut, and Dr. Bieniek - they always went above and beyond as educators. They were always caring, passionate, encouraging, and insightful. I know I owe a lot to them for helping shape me into the educator I am today. 

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

I have always said I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I love to help others and to help students reach that “ah ha moment” that I saw during early childhood classes in high school. I had an amazing first grade teacher- Mrs. Neill-Meade -  she inspired me to become a teacher. She cared about everyone and made sure everyone was pushed to do their best. She was able to be silly with us, but could also give you the ‘teacher look’ that would snap you right back into place. I admire how she was able to balance good classroom management and relationships with her students. I knew that I wanted to be like her one day. She actually let me come into her class when I was in my 3rd year at SRU to read to her current class. She still had my class picture from when I was her student years ago. She was an amazing role model.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

I know it’s very cliché to say - I love to build relationships and watch my students grow and to witness their “ah-ha” moments. It is the most rewarding feeling to see how far they go and to see the big smiles and glow in their eyes as well as that sense of pride in themselves when they successfully complete a hard task. I love getting drawing or pictures from my students and being able to joke around with them, but be serious when needed. It’s very rewarding to be a teacher, there are rough days but the kids make it worth it. 

6. What makes a great teacher?

I think what makes a great teacher is compassion and listening. You have the greatest looking classroom, lesson plans, and classroom management plan, but without having a mutual relationship with your students it won’t get you far. It’s important to listen to your students and to make them feel like they are heard and matter. Students love when you are yourself and being silly with you - and they respect you back when you give them routine and follow through. 

Jessica (Murrman) Recker

 

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? Please include the current school district and grade/s.

I am currently in my 11th year of teaching Special Education at Duquesne City School District. During my time here I have taught grades K-8, currently teaching 6-8 Life Skills/Autistic Support. I have also taught in the learning support classroom ranging in grades 4-8. In addition to this I have been a teacher mentor to roughly a dozen teachers in the special education field. I obtained my bachelors and masters degree from SRU as well as my Special Education Supervisor Certificate.

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

While at SRU I was able to have a variety of field experiences including a few week summer experience in inner city Philadelphia as well as student teaching in Ireland for 6 weeks. Both of the experiences provided me with a different perspective to teaching and provided me with skills I may not have gained otherwise.

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

Joe Merhaut has had a positive influence on me in multiple aspects. The first one as a professor, showing me how to keep education engaging and fun while learning at the same time. He continued to be a mentor as he was the Special Education Supervisor at my district for three years. He also shows pride in his family which provides a positive influence outside of the education world.

4. What initially piqued your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

As a child I was always playing “school” with my younger sister and insisted on always being the teacher. I then found a passion to teaching Spanish to her at a young age while that was introduced to me in middle school. I always found myself helping others in one way or another and decided that teaching was my passion.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

My favorite thing about teaching is building relationships with the students and watching them grow. I radiate kindness in my classroom and encourage my students each day to be the best them. When I see that happen it reminds me that I am right where I need to be.

6. What makes a great teacher?

A great teacher is someone who is kind, has patience, and believes in their students no matter the hurdles they may be facing.