PRINCETON: School aide wins statewide award

By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
   Patricia Scott, an instructional aide at Johnson Park School in Princeton, was named 2011 Child Care Worker of the Year for New Jersey for the Central Jersey Region by the New Jersey Alliance for Children, Youth and Families for her work with Angel’s Wings, an area crisis shelter for abused and neglected children.
   Ms. Scott splits her days between Angel’s Wings and Johnson Park. Her affiliation with Angel’s Wings began nearly 12 years ago, first as a volunteer and then as a part-time employee.
   ”All of our children at Angels’ Wings get referred to us by the Department of Youth and Family Service,” Ms. Scott said of the organization that assists children from newborns to age 12.
   Angel’s Wings began as a mission at her church. They renovated the convent that wasn’t being used. They were a volunteer organization helping kids in crisis. With over 300 volunteers, it became apparent that they needed someone to be a volunteer coordinator.
   ”Then we realized that children that we serve needed more than volunteers could give them, that’s when we joined forces with Anchor House,” said Ms. Scott.
   ”Anchor House has been serving children of Trenton for over 30 years,” said Ms. Scott. “We actually just joined their organization in the past couple of years.”
   Unbeknownst to her, Ms. Scott was nominated by her supervisor, Mereides Delgado. The nomination was driven by her commitment and dedication to her work.
   Ms. Scott has taken on the responsibility of making sure the children receive the medical attention they need by personally taking them to appointments.
   Ms. Scott is a certified teacher. At Johnson Park, she works in the classroom as an instructional aide for pre-K handicapped kids in a class of five children. Wanting to work full-time, she began at Johnson Park in September 2010. She thought she might get burned out working full-time in the shelter.
   ”I wanted to be able to help the children who come to us in the shelter, but then be able to help children who have more parental support,” said Ms. Scott.
   ”She’s just really good with the kids in terms of interacting with them,” said Mereides Delgado, program coordinator for Angel’s Wings. “She’s creative in coming up with solutions to meet their needs. She’s dedicated, very committed to her work. She’s very detail-oriented, and she goes above and beyond the call of duty as it relates to serving our children. Her co-workers have described her as a terrific role model – intelligent and energetic.”
   ”She is a non-judgmental person so she can work with our kids regardless of their race, their gender, their ethnicity or socioeconomic status,” said Ms. Delgado. “She genuinely accepts the children that come into Angel’s Wings as they are and works to make their lives better. She looks for the strength in each child and helps the child develop it.”
   Ms. Scott has always been drawn to the underdog, she said. She worked with children with autism on Long Island. When she moved to New Jersey, she worked as a transitional kindergarten teacher at Millhill Child and Family Development Center. Earlier in her career, she ran a playroom in St. Mary’s Hospital in Brooklyn. She also had a daycare in her home for 10 years called “Tricia’s Kids.”
   ”I just always felt that there were so many kids out there who were hurting,” said Ms. Scott. “I try to help keep the family together, but when the family isn’t together, there needs to be somebody who is an advocate for the child. And I like working with children. If I got offered a million dollars to head up some organization, I wouldn’t take it because if I’m not physically working with the children, then it’s not filling my needs of helping them.”
   Ms. Scott will receive her award at a conference at Rutgers University on May 20.