Sara Pomeroy: Outstanding Graduate Student in Special Education (High Incidence Disabilities)
Sara Pomeroy is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student in Special Education (High Incidence Disabilities) Award.
Sara grew up with two brothers who are deaf and on the autism spectrum, and spent her high school study halls volunteering in the resource room. Though she originally wanted to be a high school history teacher, her grandmother had always suggested she should pursue special education. Sara began working towards her master’s degree in special education while an educational technician at the Bangor Regional Program, a day treatment setting which teaches academics and functional behavior skills to students who are unable to be educated in a mainstream setting. Though challenging, Sara found the program and its students very unique, and decided to pursue her master’s through the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development in order to become a special education teacher.
Under the mentorship of the program’s elementary teacher Laura Charette (the 2019 MADSEC Special Education Teacher of the Year!), Sara learned countless skills, from classroom management and behavior de-escalation techniques. Her continued mentorship and friendship with Laura has allowed her to flourish at the Bangor Regional Program.
Sara’s time at the University of Maine has strengthened her ability to teach and assess her students, sharpened her ability to manage her classroom and student behavior, and widened her knowledge of federal and Maine state special education laws. When she became a middle school teacher at the Bangor Regional Program, she was able to integrate what she learned from her coursework into her instructional practices. Sara wants to thank the COEHD faculty for helping her grow intellectually and professionally.