Student’s essay on ‘My New Jersey public school hero’ wins trip; and publicity
By: William Wichert
All Tyler Sinnwell is looking for is a smile.
A smile for himself and one for the other nine students whose lives have been changed by the special education program in the Northern Burlington County Regional School District.
The expression came through when Tyler saw one student talking after months spent in silent isolation, or watched another practice to get his driver’s license permit. Then there was the classmate who just grinned while sitting alongside him in a science class.
"It brings a smile to my face, because I know how far they’ve come," said Tyler, a high school senior from Springfield with cerebral palsy. "These kids aren’t just my friends. They’re my family."
So in order to show the world how great his fellow students are doing, Tyler made their program the subject of his prize-winning essay in the recent "My New Jersey public school hero" contest, sponsored by the New Jersey Education Association and the Philadelphia Eagles.
A manager for the high school football team, Tyler became one of the contest winners with an essay about Wendi Giuliano, a special education teacher at the high school, and her "heroic" work with the disabled students in the program.
"She took these kids from being reclusive and shy to very outgoing," said Tyler, sitting in his Northern football jersey next to Ms. Giuliano for an interview at the school last week. "They’re more in line with the student body."
Winning the contest will give him and Ms. Giuliano the opportunity to see an upcoming Eagles game and meet radio announcer Merrill Reese from WYSP 94.1 FM, but the real pay-off, Tyler said, is the publicity.
That is, publicity for a three-year-old program that has transformed the students into independent young adults who are gaining a sense of acceptance in both their relationships with regular-education "peer buddies" and their experiences working at jobs in local communities.
The school has become a place where the special education students are now greeted with "high-fives" in the hallways, and their classmates are competing to enter the peer buddy program. This year, Ms. Giuliano received over 30 applications to fill 16 slots.
"Now they come to us and beg," she said. "It’s not like it’s a forced friendship. They genuinely care about each other."
The special education students work with their peer buddies on scenarios they will encounter outside of school, such as ordering Chinese food over the phone and spending money at a local mall, but the students are also developing their own job skills with positions at local businesses and other nearby schools.
"That’s our main goalto be individuals who contribute to society," Tyler said.
The entire program, Tyler said, comes down to how you see yourself and where you’re going. Tyler sits in a wheelchair, but he doesn’t consider himself "disabled." He doesn’t like that word. You can call him "gifted."
Disability is a word used by others who "pet" people in wheelchairs like animals, and raise their voices to say, "Hi. How are you? Are you OK?" said Tyler, who responds with an equally loud "I’m fine."
"They just think, because you’re in a wheelchair, you’re mentally challenged," he said.
So in case you didn’t hear, Tyler is fine, because Tyler has big plans.
A self-declared die-hard fan of both the Eagles and Merrill Reese, Tyler hopes to be a radio sports broadcaster and then, after he has put his name out there, he wants to travel the country as a motivational speaker.
It already seems like Tyler has a message. Recalling something his father would tell him, he said, "No matter how bad you have it, someone has it worse."