LONE TREE

Since 1996, Amy Shalla has put her heart and soul into education.

When she first enrolled at University of Iowa and began working toward her undergraduate degree in elementary education and teaching, she may not have foreseen herself becoming a leader in special education, but that’s exactly how things worked out.

On May 23, she found herself recognized with a Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa Council of Administrators of Special Education thanks to the colleagues she has worked with over the years at Mid-Prairie and now Lone Tree Schools, who nominated and recommended her for the award.

The award is presented to individuals making significant contributions to programs and services for students with disabilities.

When he presented her with the award at Lone Tree School, her comrades gathered around, having just shared their final communal lunch of the school year, retired Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider listed some of those contributions.

“She helped us start a beyond-senior program for students with IEPs,” he said, that helped students meet their goals post-graduation. “She was instrumental in helping get therapy dogs in the district. She transformed the at-risk program. She was part of the effort to combat food insecurity at Mid-Prairie. And then there is all of the training with the associates and work with the teachers. Those are all of the things you can see, and they’re very impressive.”

“But,” he continued, “that’s not the most important thing she did for us.”

Schneider then reviewed how students with disabilities and IEPs had previously been excluded from regular classrooms and otherwise left out.

“She slowly chipped away at that and made the teachers and the students realize that even though people may learn differently, we all want the same thing. We all want to be included. We all want to feel loved. She worked very hard at changing that philosophy.”

Shalla’s push toward inclusivity also made an impression on Bill Poock, Director of Teaching & Learning at Grant Wood AEA, who worked with her for years at Mid-Prairie West Elementary.

“I would say everything I know about inclusive environments comes from her, and her relentless passion for providing for the needs of kids still resonates with me and resonates in every conversation I have about students with disabilities,” he said. “It’s not surprising that she’s being honored today with this award, because her passion for students is just relentless.”

The News spoke with Shalla after the award presentation.

Not one to embrace the limelight, she said her 29 years as an educator have been “all about kids.”

“All kids deserve to have a chance, and that’s what my role is,” she said. “It’s also about parents, because I think that’s really what I do more, helping parents to navigate the system to help support their kids.”

Previously Director of Special Education at Mid-Prairie, now at Lone Tree Schools, Shalla didn’t begin her career specifically in special education; as Schneider tells it, when he met Shalla at a parent-teacher conference decades ago and saw how she related to students, he suspected she may have a gift. He invited her to apply to an open position at Mid-Prairie, which she did and accepted.

When asked why making schools inclusive has been a focus for her, she said, “Everybody has the human need to be accepted and belong. That’s one of our basic needs, and when that’s not happening, then it’s hard to learn. If you don’t have your basic needs met, either food or sense of belonging or any of those kinds of things, then you can’t learn.”

And in spite of the passage of time, Shalla continues to find her work engaging.

“It’s so rewarding when kids who struggle make gains, and how excited they are,” she said. “It’s a positive thing.”