b'A Gift for Making Kids Shine SOMA teacher Michael Wojcio is a superhero to his special-needs studentsBY HEIDI BORSTA groupofeightI never had a transition that did not youngchildrenwork, because I wait until each indi-listenstotheirvidual child is ready.teacherinquietFor now, the program ends at sec-anticipationasondgrade,butWojcioishopefulit hereadsaloudwill be extended.Froggys Worst PlayDonnaLewis-Johnson,whose Date. No one budges from their spot ongrandson, Tawan, was a student in Mr. thesemicircle;thestudentsremainsi- Wojcios class last year, describes the lently captivated by the story, amused byteacherastop-notch.When Tawan the distinct voices the teacher invents forfirst went into the class, he really strug-each character. The ability to sit still andgled with focus, staying still, and being focus on story time, a seemingly routineable to engage with his teacher, says classroom occurrence, is an astonishingLewis-Johnson. Tawan has come so feat for this particular group of kids, afar behaviorally. Mr. Wojcio gave him testimony to their teachers expertise.the tools he needed in the classroom to In his 13 years teaching kids with spe- build him up socially and academical-cial needs, Michael Wojcio has aquiredAs a first year goes, Wojcio says, this one was ex- ly. Hes able to focus and sit still long areputationasamiracleworkeramongSOMAtremely fleshed-out, which made things go smoothlyenough now to learn, and everywhere we go people parents and administrators alike. Wojcio teaches afrom the beginning. I had great coworkers and staffnotice how well his social skills have developed.multi-age class (kindergarten through second grade)in the room. We were able to work specifically onWojcio works to equip his students with the tools atMarshallElementarySchoolinSouthOrangebehaviors such as anxious outbursts and heightenedthey need outside of the classroom. We emphasize exclusivelyforchildrenwithbehavioraldisorders,emotions, to the extent that many of these behaviorsdealing with failure, dealing with rejection, and deal-or BDs, which often manifests as hyperactivity, ornot only lessened but became extinct. ing with feelings on the inside, so they dont explode trouble with focus and concentration.The goal of Wojcios BD program is to make itout of you. We spend a lot of time talking about how His experience as a special education teacher fos- possible for kids to transition into an inclusive class- things feel, like what it means to feel angry versus tered Wojcios insight that the ideal environment forroom setting, one in which students with learningsad, especially when dealing with anxiety. We work kids with BDs differs vastly from what works bestdisabilitiesworkalongsidegeneraleducationstu- onbeingmoreself-awarebystopping,planning, forchildrenwithotherlearningdifficulties. Woj- dents. We work on life skills and behaviors to getthinking, and observing.cio convinced his school district to let him imple- kids ready to transition, on a per child basis, so theyWojcio keeps his kids active, an essential compo-ment and instruct a strictly BD class; the 2018-2019dont regress, he says. Its a slow transition if thatsnent to the classrooms success, and sticks to a rou-school year served as the programs test run. whats needed, or sometimes we do it more quickly.tine. I keep the pace of learning even and quick. 24/ matters magazine / school 2019'