Special Education
Ms. Mathewson graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. She received her Masters Degree in Reading from Towson University. She has been teaching at Roye-Williams for fourteen years as a reading specialist for kindergaten, first and second grades.
Literacy Coach- Mrs. Annmarie Steltzer
Mrs. Steltzer graduated from SUNY Potsdam in upstate New York with a Bachelor's degree in English Secondary Education. She received her Reading Specialist Masters degree from Loyola College in Baltimore. She has worked at Roye-Williams Elementary School, first as the Intermediate Reading Specialist and then as a Literacy Coach, for thirteen years. Mrs. Steltzer is married and has four beautiful children! In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with family and friends.
Para-Educator- Beth Goodwin
Mrs. Goodwin attended Robert E. Peary High School in Rockville, Md. She has worked at Roye-Williams for nine years in Kindergarten, Pre-K, and ReAch. Mrs. Goodwin is married and has three children. She is an avid Washington Redskins fan and in her free time loves to play golf!
Para-Educator- Lynn DiMauro
This is Mrs. DiMauro's 35th year at RWES! She attended Bel Air High School and The Maryland Institute of Art. She is married and has 2 daughters, Tammy and Gena, and 2 granddaughters, Katie and Kristen.
The main objectives of our school's reading program is to develop an enjoyment of reading by all students. We encourage regular reading at home by both children and parent.
The special reading program provides additional reading instruction for children who are reading both below and above grade level. First and second grade students may become eligible for acceptance into the REACH (Reading Achievement) Program according to those with the greatest need.
The special reading program is an extension of the classroom reading program. Skills taught through classroom reading instruction are reinforced. The Harford County Personal Word Recognition Strategy (PWRS) is regularly reviewed. Much emphasis is placed on strengthening decoding skills, vocabulary development, listening skills, and reading comprehension.
School Psychologist- Mrs. Tina Wachter
Mrs. Wachter graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s and Specialist’s degree in School Psychology. She has been the school psychologist at Roye-Williams and Edgewood Elementary for seven years while also assisting with temporary or summer coverage at several other schools throughout the county. Mrs. Wachter is married with one daughter and is expecting her second this school year.
ESOL Teacher Mrs. Meghan Montague
Mrs. Montague has been an itinerant ESOL teacher in Harford County for 11 years. She teaches Pre-K to 8th grade students speaking languages from all around the world. Mrs. Montague is a graduate of Towson University. She is married with three beautiful girls. Ruthie is 4 years old and her twin girls, Eleanor and Andie will be 3 in December 2009. Mrs. Montague resides in Bel Air, where she enjoys playing tennis, music, film and traveling.
Special Educator- Mrs. Teresa Egitto-Kern
Special Educator- Mr. Rogers Hagert
Special Educator- Mrs. Lindsey Gilmour
Mrs. Gilmour graduated Summa Cum Laude from Towson University with her Bachelors degree in Integrated Elementary Education and Special Education. She received her Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Frostburg State University. This is her third year teaching Special Education at Roye-Williams. Mrs. Gilmour and her husband have an amazing and adorable son. In her free time, Mrs. Gilmour enjoys playing with her baby and taking him to the playground, spending time with her family and friends, photography, and making crafts.
Special Educator- Mrs. Heather Minor
All handicapped children, from birth to age twenty-one, are eligible to receive special education services. Handicapped children are those who have been determined through appropriate assessment as having special educational needs arising from cognitive, emotional, or physical factors or any combination of these.
Resource services are offered to children at Roye-Williams after appropriate assessments have determined a handicapping condition. Each assessment must include:
1. a description of behaviors which establishes the existence of a handicapping
condition
2. a statement which describes the child's performance as it deviates from
developmental milestones/general education objectives
3. a statement of criteria which establishes eligibility for special education
services
4. the signature and position of the individual who has administered the
assessment
Parent participation and consent is solicited during each step of the ARD process. Parent participation and consent is crucial in assisting team members in determining Least Restrictive Environment when resources services are deemed appropriate.
Speech Therapist- Ms. Vonnie Vitilio
The speech/language therapy program at Roye-Williams provides services for children from the preschool level to fifth grade. If a child is experiencing difficulties with articulation, the way he/she produces sounds, or with language skills, the child can be referred for testing by teachers or parents. After referral, the child is discussed at a team meeting to determine if testing is appropriate. The main criteria for placement in the program is that the child's speech and//or language skills must be negatively affecting him in his classroom performance.
If test results indicate a problem and the parents give permission, the child is placed in therapy. Direct speech/language services are usually provided tow days a week for twenty-five minute sessions. Therapy is usually in a small group setting and the children are grouped according to age and disorder.
Therapy may consist of practicing the correct pronunciation of sounds, auditory memory skills, comprehension skills, grammar drill, vocabulary and reasoning skills. Therapy is also provided for children with fluency (stuttering) and voice disorders.
A child's progress in therapy is reviewed sixty days after placement, at
regular intervals, and at the child's annual review, which occurs one year
after placement in the program.
Math Specialist- Dr. Pam Tabor
Dr. Pam Tabor graduated from Kentucky Christian University with her Bachelors degree with a double major in Elementary Education and Bible. She received her Masters degree in Elementary Education from East Tennessee State University. She received her Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Cross University in Mathematics Education. She has been working at Roye-Williams for thirteen years teaching as a fifth grade teacher and a math specialist. Dr. Tabor is married and has two teenage sons. In her free time she likes to read, garden, participate in church activities, and travel.
Para-Educator-Mrs. Melissa Alley
Mrs. Alley has an AA degree in Early Childhood Education from Harford Community College. She has been working at Roye-Williams in the Math P.O.W.E.R. program since February 2003. Mrs. Alley is married and has an 8 year old daughter who also attends RWES. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, listening to Country music, and cooking.
Para-Educator-Ms. Karen Matta
Mrs. Karen Matta attended Harford Community College attaining 64 credits while studying Early Childhood Education. She is in her 9th year at Roye-Williams working with Math P.O.W.E.R.. She has three adult children, Joe, Leann and Jonathan. She is a sports enthusiast, supporting Pittsburg teams: Steelers football Penguins hockey, and Lynchburg College lacrosse.
Para-Educator-Mrs. Lisa McHugh
Mrs. McHugh graduated from Marietta College with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (minor in Art History). She has been working at Roye-Williams for nine years teaching Math P.O.W.E.R. Mrs. McHugh is the mother of four grown children, Jennifer, Heather, Katie and Michael. This summer she had her first grandchild, Owen. In her free time, she likes to garden, travel and spend time with baby Owen.
Roye-Williams Elementary believes that every child has the right to succeed in mathematics. Through analysis of assessment data and class performance, number sense has been identified as a foundational component of long-term success in mathematics. As a result, we have designated a good portion of our resources in ensuring that our children have every opportunity to develop numeracy from the earliest grades. Roye-Williams has developed a comprehensive program called Math POWER to accomplish this goal. POWER is an acronym for Putting Opportunities Within Everyone’s Reach.
The goal of Math POWER is to ensure that every child at Roye-Williams is successful in mathematics. To this end, formal assessment and observational data are regularly analyzed to identify any child not meeting with success. Any child not meeting with success is placed on a list of children targeted for additional assistance. In the primary grades this takes the form of Math Recovery Intervention and additional within-classroom support. Intermediate children receive additional with-in classroom support from specially trained mathematics para-educators.
Implementation of the Math POWER program includes:
• The creation of a highly trained school-based mathematics coach is critical for the implementation of the Math POWER program. Pam Tabor is a certified Math Recovery teacher and leader (www.mathrecovery.org). As a Math Recovery leader she is qualified to provide professional development and full Math Recovery training for other teachers. One classroom teacher from Roye-Williams has completed the year-long Math Recovery professional development program. The math coach also oversees the Math POWER program implementation.
• The math coach trains and oversees three para-educators. These para-educators provide one-on-one tutorial intervention to children in the primary grades and “plug-in” support to children in intermediate mathematics classrooms.
• A professional learning community culture has developed among the math coach, the math para-educators, the classroom teachers, and special educators. Best practices and research are shared among these individuals to improve instruction. The math coach supports on-going professional development of all staff.
Mrs. Crystal Sweigart
Ms. Sandra Baldwin
Before coming to Roye-Willimas, Sandy was a stay at home Mom, attended college for two years, and then was a floral designer for 20 years, owning her own business for part of that time. This is her 4th year at Roye-Williams. She is a resource para-educator working with children in 4th grade, 5th grade, and Kindergarten. She and her husband, Jim, have been married for 39 years and have 3 grown sons and 4 grandchildren.
Mrs. Linda Gregory
Mrs. Gregory has worked at Roye-Williams elementary for sixteen years. She worked as the Home Visitor for ten years, has been an IA in Kindergarten and is now a Special Ed para-educator. Mrs. Gregory's husband is a retired Army pilot. They have two adult children with whom they enjoy spending time whenever possible.
Mrs. Marguerite
Ms. Amanda Livingston
Ms. Marjory Schultz
Mrs. Sheila Albertini
Mrs. Kim Byers
Mrs. Melissa Sexton
Mrs. Sexton has had various roles at Roye-Williams including: assisting in Kindergarten ,working as a ReAch and LAUNCH tutor, and being a Family Liaison. She is married with two children. She recently had a beautiful new granddaughter. In her free time, Mrs. Sexton enjoys scrapbooking, reading, and spending time with her family.
As Family Liaison, Mrs. Sexton is the parent involvement and volunteer coordinator. She is a support person for the parents/families of our students. Mrs. Sexton plans family activities and workshops for parents. She works with classroom teachers to prepare materials for parents to use at home to work with their children. In the afternoons, Mrs. Sexton works in the Intervention Room.