Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Drace Wilson | 240523-N-NC885-2005 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (May 23, 2024) Katie Wilford, an...... read more read more
One can spend their entire life searching for their calling; but for some like Katie Wilford, they discover it at a young age.
“As long as I can remember, I always wanted to become a teacher,” said Wilford, an inclusion teacher at Rota Middle/High School. “When I was a young child, I would often pretend to teach my stuffed animals and pets or any other audience who would listen.”
Over the years, she continued to teach her fuzzy friends, and laughs when she said it was a childhood gift of a chalkboard that “sold” her on becoming a teacher. The birth of her younger brother with a cognitive impairment brought along the realization of the direction she wanted to pursue within teaching.
“I knew that I wanted to extend myself into the field of special education,” she said. “I enjoyed volunteering and working with my brother during his Special Olympics events and always fiercely advocating for his needs to be met.”
After high school, Wilford attended the University of Kansas because the school had one of the top-ranked special education programs in the country.
“During my time at the University of Kansas, I volunteered at many schools,” she explained. “I conducted extensive research on a variety of educational topics specific to special education, human behavior, and the autism spectrum.”
Wilford elected to student teach abroad with DODEA at a school in Mannheim, Germany for her teaching practicum. Afterwards she returned to her university, defended her thesis, and graduated with a degree in special education. During that busy summer, she also got engaged and accepted a position at Atsugi, Japan. This began her DODEA journey that has spanned 18 years and three countries.
“I taught as a special education teacher for grades K-6 in Atsugi, Japan for four years before transferring to Vicenza Elementary School,” she said, “where I served as an elementary special education teacher and a preschool for students with disabilities teacher for four years.”
Wilford then moved to district-level support working out of offices in Okinawa, Japan and Vicenza, Italy as an Instruction Systems Specialist (ISS) within special education and autism spectrum for the schools within each district.
While Wilford enjoyed her experience at the district level for eight years, she missed working with students. This prompted Wilford and her family to make the move to Rota Middle/High School in 2022, to which she acknowledged, “I am thoroughly enjoying my time back in the classroom!”
In her current role, Wilford’s able to directly advocate for her students’ needs and assist them in their learning. Working in her fellow teachers’ classrooms, Wilford loves co-teaching the students and combining hands-on activities, movement, and social-emotional wellness mini-lessons for her students.
“Rota Middle/High School is a special place where students are at the center of all that we do, she said. “Every day I have the pleasure of working alongside some amazing educators and I have the privilege of co-teaching daily with a great team of people.”
Wilford attributes this to the smaller school environment where the teachers and administration have the ability to put a greater emphasis on the students and their needs. This perfectly melds with her personal teaching style, which she describes as “student-centered approach.” Wilford works to get to know the student, respects them and their views, and builds upon their strengths.
“My guiding principles are centered around consistent, inclusive practices to ensure that all students can access a free and appropriate education within their least restrictive environment,” she said. “I believe in providing voice and choice to students, so that they can provide input into their educational plans and advocate for themselves as they progress throughout their school career.”
Similar to how she advocated for her brother’s needs, she advocates daily for her students, but feels that teaching them to recognize and advocate for their own needs is essential for their long-term success. She encourages her students to think, problem solve and do the right thing even if no one is watching in their daily actions.
“I believe that each student has something unique to offer the world,” she said.
Her dedication to her students and the Rota Middle/High School community was recognized recently when she was awarded 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year for Europe-South District. During a regular staff meeting, District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Arrington and Community Superintendent Dr. Stephanie El Sayed, virtually joined the meeting.
“We were all curious as to why they had joined the meeting, and then they announced that I was the Europe South District Teacher of the Year,” she said. “I was in shock. I could not believe that I was the recipient of such an award.”
For Wilford, winning the award brought great validation for her life’s passion to teach as well as gratitude for her students, mentors, co-teachers, administration, and community.
“I truly love what I do and do what I love,” she said. “I am happy to stand as the Europe-South District Teacher of the Year to represent on behalf of all of the hard-working educators around the globe who truly love what they do!”
Rota Middle/High School is Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) school located on Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota military base. Located on a combined campus with Rota Elementary School, the schools provide education for kindergarten through 12th grade.
As the "Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota provides U.S., NATO and allied forces a strategic hub for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2024 07:04 |
| Story ID: | 473081 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Lifelong Passion: Wilford’s Journey to Teacher of the Year for Europe-South District, by Courtney Pollock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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