Hannah Rodriguez

According to Ms. Hannah, “Preschool special education is anything but clean – we have sand in our shoes, paint in our hair, glue on our elbows, and rice on the floor. We sing, we dance, and we move our wheels on the bus around and around!” Reaching her students may mean sitting on the floor in order to be close enough so that students can see her lips as she produces speech sounds, or going down a slide with a student working on gross motor skills, or being covered in smashed bananas while teaching a child how to use a fork or spoon. Milestones are being met every day and the smallest successes are celebrated. These moments are Hannah Rodriguez’s guiding inspiration. From the moment she walked into a preschool special education class for the first time, she says, “My heart was hooked and I knew I had found my home.”

As an Early Childhood Special Educator, Hannah’s core belief is that all students deserve the opportunity to learn at their own developmental level and demonstrate their knowledge in unique and unconventional ways. Differentiated instruction and modifications allow her students to achieve daily progress, with lessons tailored as they work towards their goals. Each lesson is thought out in detail and she knows their favorite songs, colors and emotional needs by paying close attention to their subtle cues. Cheers and claps abound as each success is celebrated!

Hannah acknowledges that her greatest accomplishments often slip by without most knowing the immensity of their importance. They come in moments when a child says mommy for the first time, takes first steps, or learns to wave goodbye after a year of practice. “My students will develop in their own time and in their own way,” she shares.

Many of Ms. Hannah’s students are medically fragile and will need lifelong supervision and care, but although heartbreaking to her, she meets them each day with patience, dedication and love. “Being able to help my students grow and for families to trust me to be their child’s caretaker and teacher five days a week is a privilege that is never lost on me. It is by far the best accomplishment of my life.”

When people ask her how she does it, she responds, “I love them, but I also push them, and then watch how far they will go.”