Sara Shettle

My son is in a special ed kindergarten class and his teachers’s name is Sara Shettle. Sara is the type of person that when meet her, you love her. She’s been working in special education for over 20 years and upon meeting her for the first time, you would’ve thought it was her first year of teaching with the excitement that she showed towards my son being in her class. I will never forget walking my son into her classroom the first day and he immediately went to the window and proceeded to pull off some window stickers she had as classroom decoration. I cringed at his impulsive behavior, and I started to doubt if this was really going to work out. Sara proceeded to say “wow Xavier! you figured out that those can peel off the window!” That simple and patient response to him, I just knew he was in the best hands possible. Since that initial meeting and throughout his school year, I’ve never met someone so supportive and loving towards my child. My son has a lot of struggles with his behavior, learning and development. He knows he is loved when he is in her class, and he has proceeded to learn a lot more things than we ever thought possible all because Sara is so patient and persistent to help him. In addition to his learning, Sara takes care of my son when he has seizures at school. The way she takes care of him, it was as if it were her own child. I know he is safe and cared for in her hands. As his mother, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Sara loves my son and he absolutely adores her. I have seen her with all the children in her classroom and I see that same love and dedication to each one. She goes above and beyond every single day to love these special needs children where they are at, and teach them with the upmost patience and determination for them to be the best that they can be. Sara is the best thing that has happened to my son since his epilepsy started and all of the difficulties it has brought for him and our family. There are no words to thank her for what she has done for him, for the love and care she gives him every single day, and the joy it has given me to see him thrive in her care. She absolutely deserves to win this award. We love you, Sara and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Xavier Slonkosky