There are so many wonderful teachers at KHS. I am sure you have met or heard of a lot of them, but have you ever stopped to think about all the different departments they belong to?  You are probably thinking, “What is there to know? We just have the four basic departments: math, science, history, and English.” Well, there are actually many more teachers than that, and the ones highlighted in this article are the teachers in the Special Education department. You may wonder what Special Education teachers do, and the truth is, the teachers in that department do a lot. If you want to know more, keep reading. Let’s go ahead and meet some of them. 

Let’s meet  Mrs. Ruskoski, 

Mrs. Ruskoski teaches reading. She enjoys working with the kids and her favorite thing about her job is seeing the progress that students make. She also enjoys seeing them become successful. She has no pet peeves. 

Next up is Mrs. Dumas 

Mrs. Dumas works in the Skills Center with a lot of different kids on various subjects throughout the day. Her favorite thing about her job is the students she works with. Mrs. Dumas’ pet peeve is all the paperwork she gets to do. 

Now let’s meet Mrs. MacLennan 

Mrs. MacLennan works with kids and teachers to make sure they get the help and support that they need. A part of her job she enjoys is seeing the students grow as learners and people. Mrs. MacLennan’s pet peeve with teaching is when kids get frustrated and just give up without trying. 

Let’s meet Mr. Macisso  

Mr. Macisso came from MSK and is new to KHS. He works in the Skills Center and also works with the Special Education Transition Program. This program is designed to help kids figure out what comes next in their plan after high school. Mr. Macisso’s favorite parts about working in this program are the transition opportunities that the kids have as well as the chance to learn skills that will help them in life. These skills include teaching students how to work in the cafeteria, at Atria, and learning to work at  Cummings Market right here in town. His pet peeve is not having enough time to work with the kids. 

Come and meet Mrs. Reetz, 

Mrs. Reetz teaches Life Skills. She gets to work with many different kids throughout the day. Her favorite part of her job is that every hour of every day is always different. Her pet peeve about teaching is the paperwork. 

Let’s go ahead and meet a few more wonderful staff members within the Special Education department. 

Let’s meet Mr. Doughty, 

Mr. Doughty is new to KHS. He teaches the Alternative Learning Program. His favorite thing about his job is when students find learning styles that best suit them, which will help open more opportunities. The best part of this is seeing the students become successful at something that will help them in life. Mr. Doughty doesn’t have any pet peeves, but one thing that he sometimes finds hard is when he wants to try something new with the kids but it doesn’t go as planned.   

Now meet Mrs. Murray, 

Mrs. Murray is a resource room teacher who helps students with their work in a variety of different subjects, therefore she gets to teach a little bit of each subject. Her favorite thing about being a resource room teacher is that she loves to spend time with her students and finds it fun. Mrs. Murray also enjoys talking about something new each day with her students. Her pet peeve about teaching is having to set her alarm for 5:30 A.M. every day. 

Meet Mr. Dill, 

Mr. Dill is a resource room teacher and assists students with any classwork they might have. His favorite thing about teaching is the time he gets with his students which allows him to build strong relationships with them. Mr. Dill’s pet peeve is when meetings last longer than they need to. 

Let’s meet Ms. Jackins 

 Ms. Jackins is the speech pathologist. Her favorite part of her job is getting to work with all different people throughout the day. Ms. Jackins’ pet peeve with her job is doing all the paperwork. 

Last but not least, let’s meet Mr. Kenuk, 

Mr. Kenuk is coming from North Carolina and is new to KHS. He starts on October 12th, 2021. Mr. Kenuk teaches special education social studies, ELA, and math classes, and he is also certified to teach social studies, PE/health, and all sections for special education. At Burgaw Middle School in North Carolina, Mr. Kenuk used to coach lacrosse and swimming and he has been certified to do so by the state of North Carolina since 2005.  His favorite thing about teaching is seeing when his students have faith and don’t question whether or not they can do something.  He doesn’t have any pet peeves, but here is a quote he likes:

“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.”  -Vince Lombardi

When you see Mr. Kenuk make sure to give him a nice warm welcome to KHS!

As you can tell, there are a lot of different members of the Special Education department. All the teachers in this department work hard to help their students in the best way possible. They are all very passionate about their job, so if you ever see any of these wonderful teachers in the hall or pass by their classroom make sure to say “Hi!” 

Thank you to all the teachers in this department and all staff members at KHS for your hard work, dedication, and patience.