(This award is presented to a teacher who is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children/Ohio who has contributed significantly to the education of persons with exceptionalities, essentially through direct contact with pupils in the educational process and who is recognized by his/her colleagues and/or community as an outstanding teacher of persons with exceptionalities.)

Sharon started her 35-year educational career in 1965 when, after graduating from Wilmington College with honors, she taught 1st grade with the Fairborn, Ohio City Schools. She also taught 1st grade in Kettering City Schools. In 1975, after putting her career on hold to add to her family, Sharon taught 1st and 3rd grades in Xenia City Schools. She completed graduate studies at both Wright State University and the University of Dayton, becoming certified in special education in 1976. Sharon taught students with learning disabilities during the summers of 1977 and 1978 at Camp Progress Schools in Centerville, Ohio.

Sharon has been actively involved in CEC, starting with the Greene County chapter, serving as President and regional liaison. She has served on the state Executive Board, and served as President in 1999, leading us into the new millennium in 2000. Sharon has continued to be involved on the state Executive Board and was instrumental in getting our website up and running. She currently serves as both our webmaster and CAN coordinator. She is also working to have Region 4 actively operating before retiring at the end of this year.

Other awards Sharon has received recognizing her work in the field of special education include the Doer Award given by the Miami Valley Regional Center and the Dayton Area Citizens for Special Education in 1988. She was named the Central State University Educator of the Year in 1993.

Amy Allen – Educator of the Year
Award Winner: Rosa Lockwood

(This award is given to a member of the Council for Exceptional Children/Ohio who is not employed as a classroom teacher or a person directly involved with the teaching of persons with exceptionalities who has contribute to the welfare of persons with exceptionalities: e.g. legislation, program development, curriculum, and/or education of the public.)

Rosa Lockwood has been with the Ohio Department of Education Division of Special Education, now the Office for Exceptional Children, for over 20 years. A program consultant in the area of developmentally handicapped, she has been instrumental in shaping programs, especially for children with cognitive disabilities. Rosa’s knowledge and experience were key as she has been a leader in developing new rules for educating children with disabilities and was a major proponent of inclusive practices, long before the term was ever commonly used. She’s been through all the updates of The Blue Book and probably remembers its predecessor, The Brown Book.

Rosa has played a vital role in providing consistency and continuity in the Office for Exceptional Children, having served under several Directors, including Frank New, John Herner and now Mike Armstrong. Many of you may have known her as a team leader for the former PREP (Program Review and Evaluation Procedure) teams now known as the SIR. If so, you know that Rosa was an understanding, fair and knowledgeable team leader while also being firm, “quietly demanding”, insisting that educators not just follow procedures, but that they always keep children and their needs as the focus of the schools.

In addition to her other responsibilities, Rosa has been a long time supporter of CEC and its activities. She was instrumental in initiating Ohio CEC’s Ethnic Multicultural Concerns Committee and provided education for CEC members on understanding and appreciating cultural diversity. Rosa, along with Dr. Bridgie Ford and Dr. Scott Sparks developed a training program that has achieved national recognition and is still used today. It is so fitting that Rosa receive this award as Amy Allen was also a contributor to this outstanding training program.

After participating in the training myself, I was very impressed with the way Rosa provided the training. She taught us about diversity by first helping us see the unique culture and richness that existed within our own family. Rosa’s program and materials were presented in a nonthreatening environment that encouraged participants to be open and honest – learning from each other as much as from Rosa.

Rosa went on to initiate the subdivision in Ohio for DDEL (the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners) and has become well known within the national CEC DEL Division for her work in studying the disproportionate representation of minorities in special education and the need to improve assessment measures and tools for the identification of children with disabilities.

Rosa has developed a following not only in Ohio and in national CEC but internationally as well as she traveled to the Bahamas to provide technical assistance to the educational systems there.

(left to right) Erin Kellum and Betty Jo Lill, Dublin City Schools with Janet Jones and Brett Powell, Sodexho Food Service

Distinguished Service Award: Sodexho Food Service

(This award is presented to an individual, a program, or a department, which has made significant contribution in promoting the education and welfare of students with disabilities.)

Sodexho Food Service, formally Sodexho-Marriott, is Dublin City Schools’ food service operator, providing lunch service to two high schools, middle and elementary schools in Dublin. This is the 15th year Sodexho has partnered with Dublin Schools’ Work Study program to provide opportunities to students with severe behavior issues and who are severely mentally challenged.

Sodexho employs students during the school day, providing job tryouts (cash register, dish tank operation, and line serving) and cross train students in every area of their food service operation. They now employ 3 graduates. Sodexho provides transition employment for students who want to continue to work in the summer (food service operator for many area businesses, i.e. Nationwide Insurance/Cardinal Health).

There are numerous examples of things the Sodexho employees have done above and beyond their employment responsibilities. They have collected food for holiday gift boxes for students and their families who were in need of food, raised money for gift certificates to give student workers for spending money during summer months, and attend their students’ Special Olympics games and their graduations. They provide banquet services for the annual Work Study Appreciation breakfast which is attended by approximately 125 people. Some employees report to work at 3:00 a.m. on the breakfast day to have the buffet breakfast ready for serving by 8:00 a.m.

Through their support, reinforcement and encouragement, Sodexho employees have influenced many students at-risk for dropping out of school to stay and in school. Sodexho employees model high employer expectations and employability skills that help prepare students for competitive employment.

Responses from Fall Conference Panelists:

Stephen Barr

Donna Hanby

Mary Lou Rush

Jane Ensign