Colorado Council For Learning Disabilities

Susan Kimes-Demboski has worked for the past three years as a paraeducator at Pleasant View Elementary School in Golden. Her first position at the school was providing one-to-one behavioral and academic support to a student with autism.

Currently, she works with small groups and individuals providing academic support. Susan’s principal, Connie Brakken, has described her as a true problem solver who demonstrates patience and insight in any classroom environment. In addition to doing an excellent job of providing well-planned instruction for her students, Susan really seems to understand what it means to differentiate instruction so all can experience success.

Perhaps most impressive are Susan’s accomplishments and contributions to her school community:

• Susan serves as a member of the school leadership team.
• She created a partnership with the Golden High School student council and oversees 19 mentors who work with Pleasant View students.
• She is the coordinator of both the Foster Grandparents and the Parent Outreach programs.
• Susan served as co-coordinator of Pleasant View’s first multi-cultural night, an event with 200 participants.
• Susan wrote a mini-grant to help fund the Holiday Food Bank program and she coordinated the distribution of food to 39 families.
• She participated with Pleasant View students in the Winter Park ski program for skiers with disabilities.

A parent of one of Susan’s students remarked that Susan has provided her daughter and others with the tools to enable kids to interact with their peers and learn life-long coping strategies. The CCLD Board would like to thank Susan for all of her achievements and efforts to improve the lives of so many people.

2009 CCLD Paraeducator of the Year
Dolores Morales Lopez

Dolores Morales Lopez lived for many years in Chihuahua, Mexico and brought her excellent bilingual skills to Summit County RE-1 School District where she worked for the past 8 years. Dolores currently works at Upper Blue Elementary in Breckenridge at the full-day Head Start preschool. Many of her students have special needs and are also English Language Learners. Delores delivers instructions in English and Spanish, helping students develop academic readiness skills that will allow them to access the curriculum. Dolores engages students in experiential activities, encouraging them to be independent and to make their own choices.

As a native-Spanish speaker, Dolores provides many services to parent groups within the school community. She feels that by establishing and facilitating open communication with the parents, she is providing an important link between home and school.

Dolores has accomplished a great deal in her time at Upper Blue Ridge Elementary.

• She provides a preschool orientation to Spanish–speaking families.
• She participates in family conferences, training and home visits, serving as a translator for IEP meetings and parent teacher conferences for the entire school population.
• Her outreach to Latino parents greatly increases their willingness to participate in the school community and helping the Latino mom outreach-group, the “Mamacitas”, to understand the
differences between parent participation in schools in the US and Mexico.
• She also trained to provide community Child Find screenings and assessments.

From all of the responses we have received, it is clear that Dolores is a highly respected and valued member of the Upper Blue learning community. In the words of her principal, Kerry Buhler, “Each child that spends time in her learning environment is granted the opportunity and support to be all he or she can be.” The CCLD Board is proud to recognize another outstanding paraeducator.