Dr. Amy Mathews-Perez is the Director of Special Programs in a public school in Texas. She coordinates multiple programs: Special Education, 504, Homeless, Foster Care, MTSS, and Dyslexia. Amy has a great sense of humor and loads of experience, strategies, tips, and stories to share especially about being a part of BETTER. 

Your WHY 

My WHY is relevant contributions and meaningful experiences that empower others to see and be the progress it takes to be a part of BETTER. I believe when (not if) we get past egos, attitudes, and comfortable perspectives, we can make choices and decisions that serve the biggest purpose: student progress. I refuse to give up on the power and value of effective communication; I refuse to give up on the impact and ability of educators and families as authentic collaborators who share the priority of a child.

Background

I started teaching Speech, Theatre, and Physical Education at a Junior high school (grades 6, 7 & 8) and went to graduate school at night and in the summers. I graduated with my Master’s in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Baylor University. I moved to South Texas where I worked at a county Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) as the Education Coordinator before returning to my passion of serving public education, this time as an SLP in a local school district.  I then continued to work as an SLP, then Lead SLP, and then a Special Education Specialist (Supervisor). It was amazing to work and serve in the district that educated me from first grade to high school graduation. I served as Principal at a Professional Development magnet campus for fine arts for 5 years. It was a blast!!!! 

The picture below is of 5th graders on the USS Lexington ship in Corpus Christi, TX during one of our overnight field trips when I was their Principal.



Making Education Special for All (M.E.S.A) 

M.E.S.A. means everyone is involved in either the processes of special education, 504, or any area of education. The emotions that bubble to the top when you think of something or someone special are what I want to transform public education into. Not all ooey-gooey goodness, but a sense of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose. I’ll focus on special education because that is the easiest example, but know that I believe this can be the case for all arenas of special education – for all stakeholders. https://dramyperez.com 

My SPED example is this: “SPED” can evoke a sense of “extra” – extra work, time, energy, effort, paperwork, meetings, etc – all of which are true. HOWEVER –  I am willing to go out on a limb and say that we all like to be treated special….I’ll even go so far as to say that we all expect to be treated special to some degree. 



Does anyone ever need a deadline extended? 

Does anyone have reminders/alarms on their phone? 

Does anyone ask a friend to remind you to do something or ask them to go somewhere with you or even for you? 

Does anyone make notes in the margin of our books or use Post-it notes? 



We tend to expect these things as adults, yet we can agonize about providing these things to students who have disabilities; just a point of reflection.