Helping Special Needs Students
By Tiffany Casali, Staff Writer
Sam Janeway, a new teacher at Galileo, decided he wanted to teach special education children when he was very young. As a child, he was in special education himself because of dyslexia, and inspired by his resource teacher in the third grade, decided he wanted to help other children with special needs.
Having been in special education, Mr. Janeway feels that he can better understand his students. “I think [I’m strong in] profiling students; finding their behavioral and academic needs so I can help them in a way they can accept.” he says.
Mr. Janeway also acknowledges the challenges of teaching students with special needs. “They are good kids, but they sell themselves short,” he says, “I want to help them succeed”.
Mr. Janeway earned a Bachelors degree at Bucknell University with a major in English and a minor in Psychology, and has a teaching career of fifteen years, including teaching at George Washington High School as well as other schools for the district.
Mr. Janeway has worked at many different schools to earn many different types of experience, including Edgewood, a kindergarden through eighth grade school, and JMC academy for students expelled from the district. He was also a behavioral specialist for the district for three years.
Mr. Janeway believes that he can aid his students. Teaching special needs students is not his only aspiration, though; he also wishes to someday become a dean, so he can help other student achieve success as well, and take his career to a new level.