In the public eye: WMS special education teacher forges lasting relationships with students

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

By Ed Pierce

Special education teachers are uniquely trained to support the learning needs of students with disabilities and to ensure their educational, behavioral, social, and emotional success. Windham Middle School has one of the best in Adam Deveau.

Adam Deveau is now in his eighth year as
a special education teacher at Windham 
Middle School and provides specialized
instruction to support students when
they are challenged or struggling.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

Deveau is now in his eighth year working at WMS and says he considers himself fortunate to be part of the RSU 14 team. In his job, Deveau is challenged to find specific interventions that fulfill the needs of his students, kind of like trying to solve a new puzzle every day.

“My responsibilities vary a bit from year to year. This year, my main responsibilities include providing specialized instruction and supporting students throughout the day when they are challenged or struggling,” Deveau said.” Since starting at WMS, I have taught reading, writing, math, and science on the academic side as well as social skills, social-emotional learning, and executive functioning. I also create and manage educational plans and positive behavior support plans.”

At the middle school, special education teachers work with fewer students than their general education counterparts and they also work with the same group of students over the course of several years they attend classes there. The smaller class sizes in special education coupled with the increased time of working with the same students at WMS gives him the opportunity to forge strong relationships with his students and their families.

“The best thing about what I do in my job is that I am in a unique position to help improve the quality of life for students and help them enjoy and benefit from their time at school,” he said. “I get to help shape their overall experience at Windham Middle School and when I do my job well, I see amazingly positive outcomes in the way they feel about school in general.”

But the most challenging aspect of Deveau’s job is the fact that he can only be in one place at a time and sometimes there are many things that he would like to be doing and many people he would like to be supporting.

“People don’t always understand that special education is not just a service to address academic needs, but it also can help students that struggle in many areas including behavior, daily living skills, and social skills,” he said.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Deveau’s family moved to Maine when he was just an infant. He has spent much of his life living in Bridgton and graduated from Lake Region High School. He originally studied philosophy at the University of Southern Maine but when I graduated, he found out that “philosopher” is not exactly a job in high demand. He enrolled at USM again and earned enough additional credits to become a special education teacher.

According to Deveau, he first applied to work at WMS when the school that he was working for moved to a new location further away.

“I have taught nearly every subject in special education. I started my career in a private day treatment program for students with emotional and behavioral health challenges,” Deveau said. “After that I came to WMS, and have worked as a functional academic teacher, a resource room teacher, and a behavior support teacher.”

He says he’s enjoyed many memorable moments working for WMS.

“Some of my favorite memories include seeing them perform in talent shows, participate in door decorating contests, and other moments where they chose to step up to the plate to show us their unique skills and talents,” Deveau said. “The moment that stands out the most is when I worked with a group of students who came into my room almost every day to learn how to sing three or four songs. Our goal was to bring some joy and entertainment to the residents of Ledgewood Manor, a local assisted living facility. On the day they performed, my students showed courage, compassion and kindness in so many ways, and I was honored to help them.”

The most important thing that Deveau says he’s learned working for WMS is that all students want to do well.

“If we create the right conditions for student success, they will almost always meet us halfway,” he said. “They communicate their needs with not only their words but their actions, so we need to listen to them on so many different levels to be effective educators.” <