NAMPA, Idaho — Inside Owyhee Elementary School in Nampa, Tiffany Sturges and her paraprofessionals are working with some of the youngest students.
"It's busy," Sturges said. "They're a busy group of super fun kiddos. We have K-3 in our room."
Sturges is an extended resource teacher. She explains her students may have autism, down syndrome, or a traumatic brain injury.
"I call them little angels trapped in a body, because they're just the sweetest things ever and just need to be taught how to live every day lives," Sturges said. "We do a lot of functional academic - learning money, learning one-to-one correspondence, even like toileting assistance. Just everything they need to know to live day-to-day."
Sturges wanted to create a sensory room for her students and was able to make it happen this school year.
"Sensory is really important for these kids. We have a lot of general education kids in our building that get overwhelmed, stressed, and they need a break too, so I thought this would be a great room for not just my kids but for the entire school," she said.
Sturges says the room is set up with a lot of fun things, like a swing, toys and puzzles, and a wagon to ride in. There are also items like sensory pads, exercise balls and a trampoline. An ocean light helps calm the room down.
It has been really rewarding for Sturges to see the positive difference the sensory room is making.
"I have so much that I want to teach them and they teach me more than I can ever teach them, and it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my entire life, besides being a parent myself, this is at the top of the list."
Sturges was awarded a CapEd grant to help pay for the sensory room at Owyhee Elementary. She hopes to expand the room next year. If you would like to help with items for the sensory room you can click here.
If you would like to nominate a teacher who is going above and beyond, send us an email to innovativeeducator@ktvb.com. Educators, for more information on submitting an application for a classroom grant through the Idaho CapEd Foundation, visit www.capedfoundation.org.
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