By Christina Leslie |Correspondent

The Trenton Diocesan Council of Parent Teacher Associations has been named one of four 2014 Distinguished Home and School Association Award winners in the U.S. by the National Catholic Educational Association. The award, which will be presented during the NCEA Convention and Expo in Pittsburgh April 22-24, recognizes the work of the diocesan PTA in providing $20,000 in funding over a three-year time frame for its teachers to attend special needs workshops at Georgian Court University, Lakewood.

JoAnn Tier, diocesan superintendant of schools, noted the importance of professional development for teachers as the classroom population evolves. “To best teach our children who will be the future citizens, leaders and contributors of an ever-changing global society, the skill set of educators must be continually expanded and enhanced,” she asserted. “It is important that teachers have the understanding, the resources and instructional strategies that will help students to be successful.”

According to its guidelines, the NCEA “seeks to recognize outstanding contributions to Catholic elementary schools by home and school associations… with the hope that other parent groups will replicate, adapt or expand these programs.” The Distinguished Home and School Award criteria require the home and school organization must have made one substantial contribution to the school during the previous school year, such as establishing a new program, implementing an effective enrollment drive or public relations program or expanding the school.

The GCU special needs workshops were created in response to feedback from a survey of diocesan teachers and administrators, explained GCU dean of education Dr. Lynn DeCapua. She, Tier and Dr. Margaret Boland, assistant superintendent of schools, consulted with the Lakewood university’s special education department to discuss the needs of the teachers and plan workshops.

“Our goal is to assist the teachers to better meet the needs of the students with disabilities in a blended environment, to understand the nature of their disabilities and how they impact their performance,” stated DeCapua. “There is a misunderstanding that public schools have this knowledge base and parochial and private schools do not.”

The all-day teacher workshops are held three to four times over the course of the academic year at the Lakewood university campus and address the needs of students with special emotional, behavioral and learning needs, DeCapua said. In the program’s inaugural year, teachers attended workshops covering the nature and needs of students with disabilities in inclusive settings, instructional strategies for students with special needs, and managing challenging student behavior. Topics discussed during this academic year have covered effective strategies for instructing students with learning disabilities; addressing various skill levels of students; literacy instruction in mathematics, reading, spelling and writing; and practical suggestions to address the needs of students with Asperger’s syndrome and high functioning autism in the inclusive school setting.

DeCapua reported that 60 to 70 teachers participated in the three GCU special needs workshops last year, and 30 to 50 have attended this year’s workshops to date. The veteran of Catholic schooling and alumna of St. Rose High School, Belmar, expressed pleasure that the Trenton Diocesan Council of PTA received the NCEA award, noting, “I am thrilled for them; it is good the Diocese is focusing on this need.”

Katherine Soss Prihoda, president of the Trenton Diocesan council of the PTA, extolled the value of the GCU courses for diocesan teachers and the students they serve. “As the student population changes, there are challenges,” she observed. “There are a lot of kids with learning differences. The affiliation with Georgian Court University for the teachers will give them the same environment without people taking them out of Catholic schools.”

Soss Prihoda, whose four children attended Catholic schools and whose son now teaches at Trenton Catholic Academy, expressed gratitude for the NCEA national recognition. “This award says thanks to teachers and Catholic schools and allows them to survive and prove they can make a difference. It’s nice to know the NCEA recognizes all the schools in our Diocese… are doing a great job. The grant is a great service; the award is just icing on the cake.”

Tier agreed. “As our Catholic schools support student learning, it is important that our educators be on the cutting edge,” she noted. “This initiative is an investment in our teachers which ultimately is an investment in our students and in our Catholic schools.” 

JoAnne Apgar, a second grade teacher in Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, reflected on how the opportunity to attend the workshops at Georgian Court University proved to be “invaluable not only to myself but to our whole faculty.”

“Once we attend the workshop, we then bring the information back to our colleagues and share what we have learned. We are discussing and putting into practice the varied instructional strategies that are essential in meeting the learning needs of all of our students,” said Apgar.