Education truly special for Clare
TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Working with students with special needs has been a passion for Clare Sinner since high school.
Sinner, who has been a special education teacher at Garfield Elementary School since 1998, was named Wednesday the 2005 Brainerd Teacher of the Year.
When Sinner was in high school she sat with an elementary student, who had Down syndrome, on the Detroit Lakes school bus every day. She helped the girl with her math homework and her social skills.
Sinner also attended a summer camp and worked with special needs children.
"I knew this was something I wanted to pursue in life," said Sinner. "I also wanted to be a teacher because of my mom."
Sinner's mother taught in the 1940s in a one-room schoolhouse north of Grand Forks, N.D. Sinner said her mother played a positive role in the lives of many of her students.
"She really touched a lot of people's lives," said Sinner. "She truly made a difference and I want to make a difference too."
Sinner graduated in 1982 from the University of North Dakota. She has taught in Pelican Rapids, Burnsville and West Fargo, N.D., before accepting a position in Brainerd. Sinner earned a master's degree in education leadership from Southwest State University in 2001.
At Garfield, Sinner works with kindergarten and first-grade students, who have physical or developmental disabilities.
"Everyone has a unique learning style and it's my job to find it, using it to the student's benefit," Sinner said. "When I see that child make a connection ... That is what keeps me going."
Sinner said all of her students have progressed this school year in their math and reading skills. She said at the beginning of the school year she had kindergarten students who did not know the difference between a letter and a number. Now these students know numbers and letters.
Sinner said her philosophy is all children can learn if taught carefully. Sinner said learning can be accomplished through the help of parents and special education service providers as well as school administrator, such as principals, to make a plan for what's best for each student.
In her teaching, she practices positive interaction and problem-solving techniques through role playing and discussions. She also works on improving social relationships.
She said her biggest accomplishment is seeing a child's face when the student figures out something in a lesson.
"The thrill in their voice and the excitement of a job well done tells me that they understand," said Sinner.
Mary Kroll, a special education teacher at Brainerd High School, nominated Sinner for the award. Kroll, who was a student teacher of Sinner's four years ago, said Sinner has demonstrated outstanding talents in teaching and has earned the reputation as a good teacher.
Kroll wrote in her nomination letter, "Through her enthusiasm, the students buy into the process of learning ... She looks for what the students did right and builds on their strengths rather than pointing out their weaknesses."
Sinner is a member of the national and state education associations, Parent Teacher Association, St. Andrew's Catholic Church, St. Clare's Guild and she is a Sunday school teacher. She has been involved in Relay for Life and the Minnesota Jaycees Presidential Medallion.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.