The Educational Service Center (ESC) of Cuyahoga County recognized Chagrin Falls High School junior Nadia McGinnis with a 2017 Excellence in Education Peer Achievement Award. The recognition brunch, held on May 15th at Woodside Event Center at St. Michael’s in Broadview Heights, was an opportunity for educators, teachers, students, and community members to celebrate the great things that are happening in special education today. Students, peers, and educators received awards. The Outstanding Peer Achievement Award recognizes students who have established positive relationships, assisted other students with disabilities, and have been exemplary role models.
As a member of the Principal’s Advisory Committee, Nadia suggested to Mr. Ast that she wanted to make the school dances more inclusive to students with special needs. She proposed having a quiet room near the gym where students could go if they were to get overwhelmed in the loud room with a large crowd. Mr. Ast and the special education team thought this was a great idea.
Prior to the Winter Formal dance, she and her team of students participated in small group speech therapy sessions during their lunch periods. “They met with our students who have special needs to talk about the dance, to spend time together, and to build relationships with the students so they would feel comfortable approaching the peers at the dance,” said Janet Coriell, intervention specialist, Chagrin Falls High School. At the dance, Nadia and her team took turns dancing and spending time socializing with the group of students in the gym, and also made sure there were peers available when students wanted to use the VIP room. They all took pictures together, and helped post them to Instagram so the DJ could put them up on the screen by the dance floor. “Our students had a great time at the dance. In fact, there were some who came to a school dance for the first time, specifically because of all that Nadia had done,” said Coriell.
Nadia and her team have continued to spend time with the students whenever possible to participate in other activities, such as coming to school early to do puzzles with a student while she waits for her aide to arrive, doing crafts with a student to help her participate in a team spirit activity, and interacting during their lunch sessions. “Our students look forward to lunchtime with their “buddies,” and enjoy seeing them in the hall between classes and at school events,” said Coriell. “Without Nadia, these connections may not have been formed naturally, and our students with special needs would have missed out on these opportunities. We are all looking forward to watching these relationships grow. Thanks to Nadia and the blueprint she has designed for school dances, I foresee that this will continue at our school, even after she has graduated.”
Pictured In Photo: Left to Right: Kalee Orr, ESC of Cuyahoga County State Support Region 3; Nadia McGinnis, Chagrin Falls Schools; Janet Coriell, Chagrin Falls Schools Intervention Specialist.
