Special Education Moves Online
Rachel Placencia-Burns joins the special education department at Pioneer
By Patricia Carmona
Rachel Placencia-Burns joins the special education department at Pioneer
By Patricia Carmona
With the start of the new school year, new teachers were added to the Pioneer special education department staff.
This will be the first year the special education department has faced challenges resulting from the current online learning circumstances. One new special education teacher, Rachel Placencia-Burns plans to expand flexibility and empathy to overcome the obstacles the department will encounter this year.
“I would like to make my department successful by sharing my ideas and approach to working with young people, lifting students up and building more adult support for students,” Placencia said.
Department Chair Scott Rudolph saw her potential in this department when they used to work together at Bret Harte Middle School, and admires her persistence and dedication for her job.
“She works so well with students who are struggling with stress and anxiety and does a great job connecting with students in general. This is Ms. Placencia's first year teaching high school students but it's clear that this is exactly where she needs to be,” Rudolph said.
Placencia feels she was drawn to help out students who face unique challenges, and wants to help them find their own potential within them, which she is pursuing through her career.
“Some struggles I and my students face are when they work with teachers who still expect the same level of rigor out of students when they are facing so many new struggles with distance learning,” Placencia said.
The biggest reward working with her students is watching them grow, working hard at understanding challenging skills and most of all seeing them support each other. Placencia really enjoys working with her students and the rest of the department and school, as they focus towards student needs and empathize with them as well.
“I love my students. I care for them and stay right by them the same way I would want someone to do for my own kids.” Placencia said. “I really appreciate the team of teachers, admin, and service providers who all work together to support student success as best we can.”
Placencia’s colleague Gonzalo Garcia-French said he hopes she will enjoy working in the special education department and build long lasting relationships with her colleagues and students, while getting used to teaching high school students.
“Balance is key. There are always things that need to get done but it's important to take a step back from work and take care of yourself.” Garcia says.
Department veteran Jenny Kim feels that the online barrier will cause difficulty for the entire department, but also that Placencia will be able to work past that with the help of the other teachers and the new ideas she had brought with her.
“The only thing I can say is that coming in as a new teacher in distance learning has its challenges, but being flexible and open-minded would be key to surviving this season,” Kim said.
Placencia has enjoyed her experience at Pioneer so far, and is excited to continue working with her colleagues and students for the rest of the school
year.
“I love it,” Placencia said. “The people I have met are super supportive and student-centered, which is exactly my style.”
This will be the first year the special education department has faced challenges resulting from the current online learning circumstances. One new special education teacher, Rachel Placencia-Burns plans to expand flexibility and empathy to overcome the obstacles the department will encounter this year.
“I would like to make my department successful by sharing my ideas and approach to working with young people, lifting students up and building more adult support for students,” Placencia said.
Department Chair Scott Rudolph saw her potential in this department when they used to work together at Bret Harte Middle School, and admires her persistence and dedication for her job.
“She works so well with students who are struggling with stress and anxiety and does a great job connecting with students in general. This is Ms. Placencia's first year teaching high school students but it's clear that this is exactly where she needs to be,” Rudolph said.
Placencia feels she was drawn to help out students who face unique challenges, and wants to help them find their own potential within them, which she is pursuing through her career.
“Some struggles I and my students face are when they work with teachers who still expect the same level of rigor out of students when they are facing so many new struggles with distance learning,” Placencia said.
The biggest reward working with her students is watching them grow, working hard at understanding challenging skills and most of all seeing them support each other. Placencia really enjoys working with her students and the rest of the department and school, as they focus towards student needs and empathize with them as well.
“I love my students. I care for them and stay right by them the same way I would want someone to do for my own kids.” Placencia said. “I really appreciate the team of teachers, admin, and service providers who all work together to support student success as best we can.”
Placencia’s colleague Gonzalo Garcia-French said he hopes she will enjoy working in the special education department and build long lasting relationships with her colleagues and students, while getting used to teaching high school students.
“Balance is key. There are always things that need to get done but it's important to take a step back from work and take care of yourself.” Garcia says.
Department veteran Jenny Kim feels that the online barrier will cause difficulty for the entire department, but also that Placencia will be able to work past that with the help of the other teachers and the new ideas she had brought with her.
“The only thing I can say is that coming in as a new teacher in distance learning has its challenges, but being flexible and open-minded would be key to surviving this season,” Kim said.
Placencia has enjoyed her experience at Pioneer so far, and is excited to continue working with her colleagues and students for the rest of the school
year.
“I love it,” Placencia said. “The people I have met are super supportive and student-centered, which is exactly my style.”