Stephanie Petrucci's Page

Profile Information

School / Work Affiliation: BHA

Twitter / Plurk / Other Account: https://twitter.com/spetrucci22

About Me: Hello fellow classmates! My name is Stephanie Petrucci. I am a happily married mother of 5...that's right, five (not including the three dogs and two cats)! My children are 25, 23, 21, 17 and 16. I sing in a cover band on weekends (www.facebook.com/The.Rehab.Band) and work full time as a teacher at a private alternative education school (Behavioral Health Associates). I love teaching!
I was born and raised in beautiful Jim Thorpe, PA and currently live in the next town over (Lehighton). I am 34 and the light of my life is my 5 year old grandson, Tristan. I am a very dedicated person with a very busy and complex life, but I always have time for friends - new and old.
I teach Science (Grades 5-12) in a private alternative education cyber school in PA. I taught in the brick and mortar part of the school for the first 5 months of my experience before moving to the cyber school end of things. I like Cyber School, but it is much more challenging than face to face teaching because it is more difficult and time consuming to connect with the students and keep them engaged in the learning process. I have completed all of the courses required for my secondary certificate in Biology and M.S. in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, except for the Student teaching portion – which I began 2 weeks ago. I did not go into teaching for money or for summers off, or for good hours, or for medical, dental and retirement benefits. I didn’t decide I wanted to teach. A teaching career chose me. As I mentioned before, I work in a behavioral health school and the majority of our students struggle with emotional disorders, require behavioral modifications and experience an array of issues ranging from explosive outburst to violent rage, to emotional disturbances and the list goes on and on. It has been one of the most challenging and most rewarding jobs I have ever done. With the transition to inclusion, I feel it important that all general education teachers have a solid foundation in special education practices so that they may take a more active role in collaboration with the special education teacher to develop a meaningful and appropriate plan to benefit the identified student. I do not anticipate actually being a special education teacher, but rather a Secondary Ed Biology teacher that is well versed in Special education practices.