"The most important thing I want to teach my students is that while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something important. Children with disabilities want to contribute and make a difference in the world. Sometimes it just takes a little creativity to discover the best way for these children to share their gifts with others." says Kim Reber, who teaches children with physical and intellectual disabilities in K - 2nd Grades in Reading, PA. Over the years, Mrs. Reber has developed a number of programs that foster inclusion and teach life skills to children with disabilities. For 7 years, Mrs. Reber's students operated the Patriot Store as part of a school-wide incentive program designed to encourage students to read independently, achieve academic success, and improve classroom behavior. Mrs. Reber's students gained hands-on math experience as they counted, sorted and priced items and made change for customers at the store. It also gave them fun and functional opportunities to practice using assistive technology to communicate with other students in the school. Mrs. Reber's students also enjoy raising monarch butterflies and tagging them for the fall migration to Mexico. Mrs. Reber is especially committed to exploring ways in which assistive technology can open doors for children with disabilities. To this end, she attended Harvard University's course, "Power for Inclusion: Computers in the Mainstream Classroom." A University of Kentucky video project recently featured her students and the radical - and beneficial - changes computer technology has effected in their lives. Mrs. Reber serves as the assistive technology coordinator for the Reading School District and has also taught courses on assistive technology at the college level.
1985 Millersville University of Pennsylvania, B.S.
Special Education, Elementary K-6, Certified Teacher of the Deaf
West Chester University, Masters of Ed in SpEd
