Teacher Spotlight - Sarah Trout

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

While our students are off enjoying their summer holiday, we wanted to check in with our teaching staff to see what they’re thinking about this summer. We spoke with Sarah Trout, who has been working with us for over two years now, about how she learned about TWLS, what she loves about it and what she does for fun.

You’ve been teaching at TWLS for over two years. How did you first hear about us and how did you join our team?

I went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) with an Elementary Education degree. I moved to Minnesota from Florida and was looking online at schools for special needs children. I chose to work at TWLS because they had the same philosophy and teachings I believe in when working with a child with special needs, like focusing on teaching the “whole” child and giving them individualized attention.

What is your background in working with children with special needs?
I worked as a special ed teacher for one year in Missouri then for two years in Florida. So I had three years as a special ed teacher before TWLS. [When I moved to Minnesota] I saw the program on the website and gave the school a call. I started volunteering in February 2008 and they hired me part-time in April. I’m now working at TWLS full-time.

What types of classes do you teach to the children at TWLS?
I teach language arts to the middle school students including as well as the younger students. I teach them using the Sonday System (a system using multisensory structured phonics, reading, writing, and spelling program for beginning readers). A highlight from the previous school year was working on the Sonday System with the middle school students. They moved up twenty levels this year, which is a big accomplishment.

What are some other things that make working at TWLS rewarding?
Seeing the kids grow in their academics, social skills, and confidence. Also, working with Maddie this past year and watching her grow and make friends. I worked with her quite a lot.

Outside of teaching at TWLS, what are some of your favorite things to do?
I like hiking and biking, spending time with my husband and dog, Gizmo. My favorite place to visit is back home to visit my family in Nebraska. None of my family lives around here. And my favorite book is Flat Stanley – a children’s book.

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4 Responses to “Teacher Spotlight - Sarah Trout”

1. Maddie's mama says:

   August 20, 2010 at 7:04 am

   What a blessing and sense of peace to have someone like Sarah Trout with passion, energy and a true gift for the innate ability and skill set to meet her student-(our Maddie Rose)wherever she is in that teachable moment! It makes all the difference for Maddie to grow and succeed in her learning goals! What makes TWLS great are our teachers, they are the heartbeat of our great school!
2. admin says:

   August 24, 2010 at 9:22 am

   It’s a joy to us to have all of our teachers as engaged as they are - we’re glad to be able to match up such great people with such great kids so they can learn from each other.
3. Steve Banicki says:

   September 14, 2010 at 9:03 am

   Who is that good looking young man!! Go Parker
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   December 6, 2011 at 6:39 am

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