In the public eye: Bridges/Life Skills teacher makes a difference at Windham Middle School

Editor’s Note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles.

By Ed Pierce

It’s said that children with special needs, just like all other kids, require love, guidance, encouragement, positive influences, and an exceptional life teacher to help them reach their potential. Windham Middle School is fortunate to such a teacher, and her name is Margaret “Margie” Dionne.

Margaret 'Margie' Dionne serves as the
Bridges/Life Skills teacher at Windham
Middle School and works with special
needs students to teach self-advocacy, social
and emotional skills and help students
improve their communication skills.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

She serves as the Bridges/Life Skills teacher at WMS and makes a difference every single day in the lives of her students. Through her work, Dionne provides a supportive learning environment for special needs students that promotes personal growth and independence and gets them ready for high school experiences.

In her job, Dionne teaches self-advocacy, social and emotional skills and helps students to improve their communication skills. The program provides opportunities for community involvement for special needs students and Dionne teaches skills they need for independence in life such as grocery shopping, cooking, self-care and necessary tasks that can be used in employment situations like shredding, laminating and mail delivery to name a few.

“Our program does a lot of our activities and outings with the Windham High School Bridges program which helps to make an easier transition from middle school,” Dionne said.

She says that the best aspect of her work is watching her students grow in their independence and self-confidence.

“Since I have my students all three years of middle school, I get to see first-hand the changes that they make from that first day of sixth grade up until the last day of eighth grade,” Dionne said.

Now in her 11th year of her career at Windham Middle School, she worked as an Educational Technician at the school for eight years before becoming the Bridges/Life Skills teacher three years ago.

“My family agrees that my job is difficult but rewarding and like the fact that I love my job,” Dionne said.

As the Bridges/Life skills teacher at WMS, Dionne is responsible for the creation and implementation of student’s Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). This means that Dionne provides her students with specially designed instructions to meet their academic and functional goals. She is responsible for coordinating with all members of a student’s teams including parents, other teachers, and related service providers, such as speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social work, to ensure that her students have successful school experiences and are prepared for success in life beyond middle school.

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dionne attended college at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and earned a bachelor's degree in education.

“I started my time in education when my husband and two sons and I lived in New Hampshire,” she said. “I was an educational technician in the elementary school in my town for 10 years. I turned volunteering into a job, then that job into a career. When we moved to Maine, I wanted to continue with a position like I had in New Hampshire and was lucky enough that a position was open at Windham Middle School.”

According to Dionne, the biggest misconception about her work is that teaching is about academics only.

“Teachable moments can be made out of any situation,” she said. “Yes, we may play games during class time, but the students are learning skills like waiting your turn, and how to communicate with each other. You can also add reading and math with board games and card games. Playing a game isn't just play.”

Her most memorable moment of serving as the Bridges/Life Skills teacher at WMS so far has been her first trip to a Special Olympics event, she said.

“It was amazing to be part of such a fantastic event,” Dionne said. “To see the relationships that have developed between the athletes, coaches and families throughout the state is very moving.”

And she says that the most important thing she has learned from her time at WMS is that when she needs support, all she needs to do is ask.

“Administration and fellow teachers are supportive of my students, even those who don't know them,” Dionne said. “An example are the send-offs with signs made by the students and the cheering us on as we leave for Special Olympic events.” <