By Roger Cardillo Sometimes, looking at something from a different angle makes it easier to understand. With that thought in mind, my students and I are becoming builders together and we are assembling a scale model of the local community. Using paper, paint, cardboard and popsicle sticks, we’re going to create a bird’s-eye view of […]
By Niraj Parikh As I work alongside members and staff, integrating assistive technology (AT) into the culture at Gompers, I have noticed many positive changes. Students in our school who were basically nonverbal now talk, sometimes in full sentences. A handful of individuals in our Employment Services center whose physical abilities provided a barrier to […]
By Mark DeAngelis When it’s hard to move your gaze, it’s more challenging to learn. I have been working with a student named Bridget in Heather Hall’s classroom. Bridget has a visual impairment that challenges her ability to track motion — like Ms. Hall pointing to the SMART Board, for example. Because of this impairment, […]
By Rose Gonzales Just as we go for the gold in Special Olympics, we also strive to become healthier athletes! Recently, before our state-level soccer competition, our Gompers Gators had the opportunity to participate in Strive. Formerly known as Healthy Athletes, this initiative offered through Special Olympics helps teach our athletes how to be healthier […]
By Heather Hall Earlier this week, my classroom went on a field trip to see, of all things, a bus. This was not any ordinary bus. It was the Freedom Bus, which is part of the Americans with Disabilities Act Legacy Tour. Led by photojournalist Tom Olin, a longtime historian of the disability rights movement, this […]
By Mark DeAngelis When the sliding doors of Safeway opened for Employment Services last week, it truly seemed like a promise of what could be for some of our members. Last Wednesday — the day before Gompers’ Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon — Anna, Jeremy, Michelle, Samantha and I made a trip to the Safeway store at […]
By Mark Jacoby Gompers is excited to embark on our STRATEGIC VISION 2020. Over the span of several months, Gompers’ team came together to chart a course that will take us to 2020 and our 73rd year. We took a critical look at every facet of our organization to determine where our strengths and opportunities […]
By Mark DeAngelis Regularly at Gompers Employment Services, we go on learning excursions in the community. We have visited everything from sporting-goods stores like Cabela’s and major retailers like Walmart to Channel 3TV to see how things work behind the scenes. These are more than field trips; they allow our members to see firsthand how […]
By Roger Cardillo All children have one thing in common — they learn in a multitude of different ways. Our recent field trip to Wildhorse Ranch Rescue in Gilbert gave my Gompers Private School students an opportunity to socialize with rescued animals and understand the value of being kind to all creatures. Wildhorse Ranch Rescue […]