Brendon Burton has been an Associate Teacher with Colonial IU 20 since the 2019-2020 school year. He currently serves the Elementary Autistic Support program in Marvine Elementary, Bethlehem Area SD. Prior to that, he was an Associate Teacher in the Multi-Disabilities Support program. Brendon also has worked for the Extended School Year program for the last two years. Brendon says that "The most rewarding part of working for the IU and in Special Education is watching students develop the life skills they’ll need to be as independent as possible in their adult life." He leads an annual project in collaboration with his class, focusing on an incubator and hatching chicken eggs.
"I recognized that my students, as well as some of the staff I worked with may have never gotten the opportunity to see and interact with farm animals up close. From the time the incubation process starts the kids will be close by watching the eggs as they rotate throughout the incubation period. The minute the eggs hatch, the students, (as well as the staff) love spending time with the chicks. This little project has been something to look forward to every year, as well as a great team building experience for all the IU staff in the buildings I’ve worked in."
When asked about his approach to connecting with students, he says that "Everyone has a story that deserves to be heard by others, listening and putting in the work to understand another person’s life story helps all of us become more compassionate and empathetic...we just have to learn to be able to listen with more than our ears at times to fully understand the children we work with."
The piece of advice that he would give to a new employee starting out at the IU is "Give yourself grace. Whenever talking about raising a child, people often say “it takes a village,” when working in special education it takes an even tighter knit village. So you alone won’t have ALL the answers, ALL of the time. Communicate and build a relationship with your teammates, because there may be days you see them more than the members of your own household. It’s also important to get in touch with the veteran teachers, paras, and related service staff who may work in your building. They will have tips and techniques they’ve learned throughout their years in education that could make the difference in the way you approach a child’s education or behaviors."