ACPS Special Education Teachers Receive Awards at 28th Annual Ceremony's

ACPS Special Education Teachers Receive Awards at 28th Annual Ceremony   Alexandria, Va. - Congratulations to the winners of the 28th Annual Harry Burke Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Special Education and the Anne Lipnick Inclusion for All Award, named last night at the Alexandria City School Board meeting. The honored educators include Jennifer Gant, second-grade teacher at Charles Barrett Elementary School; Angie Moran, a paraprofessional at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School; Dana Payton, lead special education teacher at the George Washington Middle School Campus; and Katie Dorgan, autism class teacher at Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology. View photos of the winners.   “At the risk of using a very old cliché, I have to say that all of the nominees are winners. We have a group of absolute ‘rock stars,’ so narrowing it down was a very difficult task,” said awards presenter Lisa Shaw, chair of the Harry Burke Awards Committee and member of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), which sponsored the competition and held a pre-ceremony reception for all nominees.   “I commend Ms. Gant, Ms. Moran, Ms. Payton and Ms. Dorgan, each of whom exhibits remarkable patience, passion and understanding,” said Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Superintendent Alvin L. Crawley. “These dedicated teachers, along with their fellow nominees, deserve enormous recognition for their life-changing work on behalf of our students with disabilities and their families.”   Jennifer Gant received the Anne Lipnick Inclusion for All Award in recognition of her outstanding ability to make all children feel a part of the class. “Her principal described the ‘choreography’ that takes place with her team every day,” Shaw said. “Her letters of support highlighted her unique and superior ability to understand the needs of everystudent and to accommodate their differences.”   Angie Moran, recipient of the Harry Burke Award for Outstanding Paraprofessional, is “a gifted educator, someone who knows when to step in and when to step back,” Shaw said. “One parent described her as an angel who draws in ALL of the children, with and without special needs.”   Known as a compassionate leader, an ambassador, a mentor and a safe haven for students, Dana Payton received the Harry Burke Award for Outstanding Secondary Special Educator. Nominees described her as “someone who takes initiative and who does what she promises,” Shaw said. “She has an experienced and intuitive sense of how to match teaching strategies with students’ learning needs.”   SEAC received 10 nominations - the most in any category - for Outstanding Elementary Special Educator, which went to two-time nominee Katie Dorgan.   “Parents all seem to believe she likes their kid best until they realize she gives everyone such special treatment!” Shaw said. “Her unassuming nature belies the magic she is creating in the classroom. She unveils strengths that are often hidden behind a disability and uses her gentle voice to create a peaceful environment for kids who are easily overstimulated.”   The awards are named in honor of Harry Burke, who served as ACPS director of special education from 1973 until his retirement in 1991, and Anne Lipnick, director of the ACPS Special Education Parent Resource Center for more than 10 years. Lipnick died in 2010.