{"id":118593,"date":"2024-01-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/?p=118593"},"modified":"2024-01-09T11:33:33","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T16:33:33","slug":"2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although he is wheelchair-bound, Shoreham Wading-River High School<\/a> sophomore Andrew Brennan always wanted to join the school\u2019s basketball team and achieve his dream of scoring a basket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His peers and special education teachers involved in the district\u2019s Unified Basketball Team were determined to make that happen \u2014 they just needed to get a bit creative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our craziness, we ordered a slingshot on Amazon,\u201d said Caitlin Gould, a special education teacher at the high school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo students would hold it, [Andrew] would put the basketball in, they\u2019d pull it back and then he\u2019d let go,\u201d said special ed faculty colleague Matthew Millheiser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from Ms. Gould and Mr. Millheiser, Andrew worked with a physical therapist to strengthen his arms and was included in the daily basketball games so he could get some practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Gould said the able-bodied students did not hesitate to offer to push Andrew\u2019s wheelchair around on the court during a game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven the teams we played were always so wonderful at letting the game stop to have him take shots,\u201d she said. \u201cOur team rallied around him every time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In May, with only three games left in the season, Andrew was getting down to the wire to score his basket. During a competition at East Hampton High School, he positioned himself on the court in front of the hoop. His peers gathered around him and two students pulled back the slingshot bands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his cue, Andrew let the ball fly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swish. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made the shot \u2014 and the crowd went wild. Andrew absolutely beamed as students jumped in jubilation around him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other team was crying, we were all crying, our students were crying,\u201d Ms. Gould said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mr. Millheiser and Ms. Gould, this was their \u201cah-ha\u201d moment as educators \u2014 validation as to why they are in this profession to begin with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These moments are not few and far between at Shoreham-Wading River, whether it\u2019s students showing off their talents on stage, learning to cook meals for their families or celebrating when a nonverbal student uses their iPad to communicate. In the eyes of a special education teacher, these are all significant accomplishments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust to see the audience\u2019s faces at the end \u2014 in disbelief about how much our students can do and how talented, how capable they are,\u201d Mr. Millheiser said. \u201cBeing able to put them on that stage and give them the tools to show off what they can do \u2014 because most of their life is all about what they can\u2019t do \u2014 is incredibly rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Jennifer Simicich, a third-grade special education teacher at Wading River School, helping children with intellectual disabilities and special needs is something she always \u201cgravitated to.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has a master\u2019s degree in special education, but started out as a math teacher at Miller Avenue School in 2007. When she transitioned to third grade and a spot opened to co-teach with one of her best friends in the special education department, she jumped at the chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAha\u201d moments for Ms. Simicich can be a student figuring out a math problem on their own or finishing a writing assignment they are really proud of \u2014 the daily \u201clittle successes\u201d that put a smile on their face, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also finds gratification in split-seconds of sweetness. She recalled one little girl in her class who gave her an unexpected hug. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have such a great relationship, where they can come to me with anything and I\u2019m going to be there to help them, either tying their shoe or writing a persuasive essay, it\u2019s not just academics,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes, I\u2019m an emotional shoulder to lean on \u2014 my students are only 8 and 9 [years-old] , so I\u2019m kind of like a surrogate parent for a few hours of the day. It\u2019s just so rewarding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact all the teachers and staff of the district\u2019s special education department have on their students resonates far beyond the classroom. They are not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the Riverhead News-Review\u2019s 2023 Educators of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department\u2019s director, Tracy Von Eschen, said the program provides a variety of services and has made \u201cincredible strides\u201d this year in expanding its peer mentorship initiatives across all school levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Von Eschen said the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d of that program are the high school RISE classes \u2014 including Spanish, art, theater,and physical education courses in which general education students take a leadership role and assist special education peers in the curriculum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some other notable accomplishments the department achieved this year include opening a new school store at the high school for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known as \u201cThe Den,\u201d the retail shop is run by both typical peer partners and students with disabilities, who work together to sell spirit apparel, snacks and supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an actual workplace environment; it just happens to be inside of our building. It\u2019s just amazing that we\u2019re able to provide that for them,\u201d said Frank Pugliese, principal of Shoreham-Wading River High School. \u201cThere is nothing [these educators] won\u2019t do. They are here for our students; there is no other priority, there is nothing else that matters to them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A transition coordinator was also hired this year to assist district students and their parents in meeting post-secondary goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Von Eschen said it\u2019s rare for her to be sitting in her office for a full day. She is often walking through the high school or visiting other district schools, popping into two or three classrooms a day to make sure the teachers and students have the resources they need to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI make an effort to be in every one of our schools as often as possible \u2014 the forefront of what I do is supporting students and supporting the teachers so that they can support their students,\u201d she said. \u201cI am beyond proud to say that the Shoreham-Wading River community has raised young people ready to support one another, to lift each other up and celebrate each other\u2019s differences through meaningful interactions and friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerard Poole, superintendent of the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District, said the proof of the special education department\u2019s dedication is in the results: the June 2023 graduation rate for students with disabilities was 97%, all graduating students with all graduates receiving at least a Regents diploma and more than 20% of them earning  Regents diplomas with advanced designations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s why it\u2019s called special education because these are a special group of people that lead that work in our school district,\u201d Mr. Poole said. \u201cOur staff is really the heart and soul of our special education program \u2014 without them, we don\u2019t have any successes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Previous Winners<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

2022: Rose Horton<\/a>
2021: Dena Tishim and Laura Nitti<\/a>
2020: Kimberly Benkert and Robert Brandi<\/a>
2019: Sal Loverde<\/a>
2018: Ed Meier<\/a>
2017: Felicia Scocozza<\/a>
2016: Melissa Haupt<\/a>
2015: Robert Shilling<\/a>
2014: Greg Wallace<\/a>
2013: Keri Stromski<\/a>
2012: Jeff Doroski<\/a>
2011: Jim Schaefer<\/a>
2010: Stacy Tuohy<\/a>
2009: Laura Grable
2008: Vincent Nasta
2007: Marion Dorman
2006: Theresa Drozd
2005: Frank Rotenberg
2004: Kevin McAllister
2003: Leif Shay
2002: Bob Jester
2001: Jean Lapinski
2000: Pat Rose
1999: Pat Snyder
1998: Carol Masin
1997: L. Custer, J. Greenberger
1996: Terri Peters
1995: Jim Roth
1994: Tim Hubbard
1993: Dot Moran
1992: Dorothy Lipsky
1991: Willie Patterson
1990: Audrey Stupke
1989: Ray McKieghan
1988: Stanley Krouse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although he is wheelchair-bound, Shoreham Wading-River High School sophomore Andrew Brennan always wanted to join the school\u2019s basketball team and achieve his dream of scoring a basket.  His peers and special education teachers involved in the district\u2019s Unified Basketball Team were determined to make that happen \u2014 they just needed to get a bit creative.  \u201cIn our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2073,"featured_media":118594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1743,14223],"tags":[10886,16079,13186,10900,5010,16078],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-118593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-featured-story","category-people-of-the-year","tag-education","tag-people-of-the-year-2023","tag-premium","tag-shoreham-wading-river","tag-special-education","tag-swr-high-school"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Riverhead News Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/files\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"709\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ana Borruto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ana Borruto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ana Borruto\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abfd8fcae34be78e30a7502adb1b1b87\"},\"headline\":\"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\"},\"wordCount\":1269,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Education\",\"People of the year 2023\",\"premium\",\"Shoreham-Wading River\",\"special education\",\"SWR high school\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"Featured Story\",\"People of the Year\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\",\"name\":\"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":709,\"caption\":\"The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Unified Basketball Program is one of the numerous social activities created by the special education department that forges connections between students of all abilities. (photo credit: courtesy photo)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/\",\"name\":\"Riverhead News Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Riverhead News Review\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/11192216\/NR_logo_cropped-e1578087020303.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/11192216\/NR_logo_cropped-e1578087020303.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":124,\"caption\":\"Riverhead News Review\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abfd8fcae34be78e30a7502adb1b1b87\",\"name\":\"Ana Borruto\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/466a9c32eee0bb768b29c0dc137b8279\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6c092d66358254c5d399b757cdcaa3f0484d85765f7056ac04409a2ce9250f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6c092d66358254c5d399b757cdcaa3f0484d85765f7056ac04409a2ce9250f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ana Borruto\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/author\/aborruto\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review","description":"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review","og_description":"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.","og_url":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/","og_site_name":"Riverhead News Review","article_published_time":"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":709,"url":"http:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/files\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ana Borruto","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ana Borruto","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/"},"author":{"name":"Ana Borruto","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abfd8fcae34be78e30a7502adb1b1b87"},"headline":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department","datePublished":"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/"},"wordCount":1269,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","keywords":["Education","People of the year 2023","premium","Shoreham-Wading River","special education","SWR high school"],"articleSection":["Education","Featured Story","People of the Year"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/","url":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/","name":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department - Riverhead News Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-04T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-09T16:33:33+00:00","description":"Shoreham-Wading River special education department is full of not only educators, but also advocates, motivators, sources of comfort and their students\u2019 biggest cheerleaders, which is why they are the 2023 Educators of the Year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","width":1200,"height":709,"caption":"The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Unified Basketball Program is one of the numerous social activities created by the special education department that forges connections between students of all abilities. (photo credit: courtesy photo)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2024\/01\/118593\/2023-educators-of-the-year-shoreham-wading-river-central-school-districts-special-education-department\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2023 Educators of the Year:\u00a0Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Special Education Department"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/","name":"Riverhead News Review","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#organization","name":"Riverhead News Review","url":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/11192216\/NR_logo_cropped-e1578087020303.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/11192216\/NR_logo_cropped-e1578087020303.png","width":700,"height":124,"caption":"Riverhead News Review"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abfd8fcae34be78e30a7502adb1b1b87","name":"Ana Borruto","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/466a9c32eee0bb768b29c0dc137b8279","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6c092d66358254c5d399b757cdcaa3f0484d85765f7056ac04409a2ce9250f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6c092d66358254c5d399b757cdcaa3f0484d85765f7056ac04409a2ce9250f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ana Borruto"},"url":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/author\/aborruto\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg","fimg":"<img src=\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web-1024x605.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/timesreview-images.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/11170420\/R0104_POYeducators-web-768x454.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>","fcaption":"The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District\u2019s Unified Basketball Program is one of the numerous social activities created by the special education department that forges connections between students of all abilities. (photo credit: courtesy photo)","gallery":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2073"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118593"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=118593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}