Littlejohn special education teacher knows how to make kids feel special: ‘The greatest reward’

DeKALB – In her 20th year of teaching, Mary Lynn Buckner knows all too well that there remains a long way to go in the fight for disability rights and awareness in this country.

It’s a cause that Buckner, a special education teacher at Littlejohn Elementary School, said she’s been fighting for and one that hit close to home for her years ago, when her mother died of cancer. Buckner said advocating for students and those with special needs empowers and gives great meaning to her.

“I champion not only kids with disabilities but all kids,” Buckner said. “I definitely see myself as an advocate for children, absolutely – voice for the voiceless, if you will.”

In addition to teaching, Buckner serves as co-president of DeKalb School District 428′s teachers union. She said that role has given her a great platform for advocating not only for fellow educators but also for students in the DeKalb community.

Buckner said the key to reaching students – and, in particular, those with special needs – is getting on their level.

“What I do is I meet them where they are academically,” Buckner said. “If they’re struggling in reading in their regular [education] class – and maybe the level is a little bit higher than where they are – when they come in here, I am meeting them right where they are and bringing them forward.”

Buckner said what makes her a good advocate for students with special needs is easy to pinpoint.

“When I am working with the students, I am treating them with respect, with dignity,” Buckner said. “I’m developing a relationship with them. When they come to school, they want to know that their teacher cares about them and loves them. It’s more than just an academic exchange, if you will.”

“Furthermore, when I’m in meetings [and] conferences … with other teachers, I’m constantly advocating for their benefit: what would be their best learning environment, what is their best curriculum, the best setting for them to learn.”

“I champion not only kids with disabilities but all kids,” Buckner said. “I definitely see myself as an advocate for children, absolutely – voice for the voiceless, if you will.”

—  Mary Lynn Buckner, elementary special education teacher

Littlejohn teacher Nikki Schmidt, Buckner’s colleague, shared that sentiment.

“She is creative in coming up with different ways to meet their needs because it changes every year,” Schmidt said. “She is flexible. She is dedicated to building relationships with them because a lot of her students are what we would call hard to reach students. She tries to find ways to build relationships with them to not only help their academics but help them as a whole child.”

Buckner said that all of the students she meets with have invisible disabilities, meaning their needs may be difficult to pinpoint at first unless disclosed.

She said that although her work can be challenging, she finds it fulfilling at the same time.

“The challenges are that sometimes I have to work extra hard to motivate the students,” Buckner said. “Sometimes they have a disbelief in their own ability to be able to achieve because they have had some failures in the past or they’ve hit some roadblocks. One of my challenges is to make them believe in themselves, to give them self-confidence in the work that they are able to achieve. But then, that’s also the greatest reward, too.”

Buckner said she usually has a common objective in mind for all of her students, usually fourth and fifth graders, to achieve by the year’s end: Ensuring her students increase their learning skills, with a special focus on reading and early literacy.

“All of my students have trouble with reading,” Buckner said. “I love to see the progress from where they started with me to where we end the year. So, improving their reading skills and then also improving their basic math skills – adding, subtracting, multiplying, memorizing math facts.”

Buckner said she likes to know that her students are prepared for academic success once they leave her class and head to middle school and beyond. In DeKalb, middle school starts at sixth grade.

Passion for spreading childhood literacy is something Buckner said inspired her to return to the world of education.

Buckner first enrolled in college at Northern Illinois University in 1982, and she is now a recipient of three degrees, the most recent bestowed in 2013. She said she enjoyed reading and learning, often finding inspiration from her mother.

For Buckner, staying on routine is key, with daily sessions for students.

Buckner said that when her schedule allows, she likes to work with other teachers in the building.

“During my planning time, I will try to collaborate with the other teachers,” she said. “[I] definitely meet with them [and] talk about the curriculum that’s going on in their classroom, making sure that what I’m doing in here is aligning with what they’re doing in the general education classroom.”

Schmidt said that working with Buckner is a delight, as she is all about collaboration.

“She mentors teachers, too, officially or unofficially,” Schmidt said. “She takes new teachers under her wing. Like we have a new fourth-grade teacher, and she’s helping her with all sorts of things, like for reading and writing. [She] shows people the ropes so that they know what to do.”

Buckner said she believes both the leadership at Littlejohn and the district deserve kudos for supporting students with special needs and making them feel like they belong.

“They’re totally included not only in this school but in this district,” Buckner said. “I think we do an excellent job of providing students [what] we call their least restrictive environment.”

At Littlejohn, staff don’t employ a specialized program for students with special needs that may restrict them from the rest of the students. Instead, the elementary school uses a resource program, meaning stuents are included in their general education classrooms for a majority of the day and they visit teachers, such as Buckner, for 30 minutes of support.

“They’re included in all activities and very accepted by their peers,” Buckner said. “The students are just very loving and very accepting. We call ourselves a family here, and we really I do feel we have familial atmosphere with the students and with the staff.”