Resident, teacher made a difference

To the editor

   As a Hillsborough resident, and an employee of Hillsborough’s public school system, I would appreciate the opportunity to make members of our community aware of the efforts of two people who have recently made a major difference in the life of a middle school student with severe autism.
   I have the honor of knowing these people through my work as an Instructional Assistant in the Hillsborough Middle School self-contained class for educating and training children with autism.
   Hillsborough has one of the best programs in the nation. The district sends the instructional assistants to Eden Institute in Princeton to be trained in Applied Behavior Analysis and discreet trial teaching systems.
   Our program started about 10 years ago in Woods Road School, and last year I moved up with the two oldest boys to the new pilot middle school program.
   Last month, 13-year-old Marquise Henderson moved to Georgia with his family. He was one of the original students in the program and has bloomed into a fine young man. I have been working with him for the past five years and miss him very much.
   Because Georgia public schools do not have a developed Autistic program such as ours, Robin Besser, the head teacher in our class, and I were very concerned about transitioning Marquise into a new school.
   As a policy, school districts do not send teachers to transition students. I can understand that — the cost, the time, the frequency would be overwhelming.
   However, this severely Autistic non-verbal boy has been taught by Eden’s technique to be a model student, was going to an unstructured general special education class in the Atlanta area — something had to be done.
   Tim Jordan is the father of Daniel, the other student in my class. Tim has a deep concern for children with Autism. He offered to pay for Robin’s expenses to go to Atlanta and transition Marquise into his new school. Tim is a firefighter for the City of Hackensack, and he raised the money through donations from firefighters and friends.
   Robin Besser received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Douglas College and a Master’s degree in Elementary and Special Education from the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. As Marquise’s teacher, she worked very hard to help him expand his academic and functional skills. We provided every opportunity for socialization and field trips to practice these skills in the community and for him to experience everyday life. When Tim approached her, Robin was hopeful and thankful for the means to transition Marquise.
   Thanks to Tim Jordan’s generosity, Robin Besser accompanied Marquise for his first three days of school and instructed his teacher and staff how to teach children with Autism (we videotaped a typical day before he moved and express mailed it to his new school to prepare them. This tape shows Marquise’s daily routine using behavior modification techniques and discreet trials. The staff will be using this to learn and implement the techniques so his progress will not regress).
   I want to honor Tim Jordan and Robin Besser by nominating them for the Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference. This award honors those who are unsung heroes for achievement that has made a major difference in the lives of people and to publicize good works throughout society.
   I will be submitting the nomination by Feb. 21. The Russell Berrie Foundation grants funds to award up to 19 New Jersey citizens.
   I think Tim and Robin have made a difference — I think they deserve this award.

Cheryl Bruno
Instructional Assistant,
Hillsborough Middle School