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Community Corner

Teacher Twice Honored at Dodd

Special education teacher is Chamber of Commerce's Educator of the Year.

Theresa Baker remembers the days when the special education teacher was the person “in the classroom at the end of the hall.”

Not so today. Watch her in action at Dodd Middle School, where she recently spent the morning teaching a class how to write a persuasive essay, and it’s clear the students think of her as just another one of their teachers.

“I’m not sitting in the back of the room helping my students,” said Baker, who co-teaches math and language arts and supports special needs students in the regular classroom. “I feel like I’m an integral part of the team.”

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Baker’s knack for bonding with all kinds of students, and her ability to collaborate with her co-workers and communicate with parents, recently earned her recognition as the Cheshire Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year. Baker was honored at the Chamber’s annual banquet in January at the Farms Country Club in Wallingford.

Earlier this school year, Baker was named Cheshire’s 2011 Teacher of the Year by the Board of Education. She was nominated by her colleagues and selected after an application and interview process.

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“There’s a remarkable connection that she has with her children,” said seventh-grade math teacher Lesley Montano, who teaches on a five-teacher team with Baker at Dodd. “She really lets on that she cares, and they see it.”

Baker, a 20-year veteran, began her career as a special education teacher at The Foundation School, a private school in Orange serving children with special needs ranging from autism to physical and mental disabilities.

She started working in Cheshire in 1994 at Doolittle Elementary, then moved to Dodd a year later and has been there ever since.

Principal Jeff Solan described Baker as a talented, hard-working and caring professional who can relate to any child, whether they’re struggling academically or earning straight A’s.

“Dodd is really blessed with a number of talented and committed teachers,” he said. “She’s a shining star in a bright sky.”

Baker said she has always enjoyed helping students with special needs to see their potential.

“Oftentimes their perception of themselves is that they cannot achieve,” she said. “My philosophy is that all students are capable of achieving and learning, sometimes they just need different strategies and approaches.”

Regarding her award, Baker said she was honored to represent the teachers of Cheshire. “I feel I was selected to represent the work that they do.”

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