Toledo special education teacher featured on cover of Teaching Young Children

NAEYC’s Teaching Young Children Celebrates and Supports the Work of Preschool Teachers

(Toledo, Ohio) – Shari Schmidt, an early childhood special education teacher at the Toledo Public Schools and NAEYC member, is being recognized for her work by being featured on the cover of NAEYC’s Teaching Young Children (TYC).
 
“We are thrilled to be featuring Shari on the cover of TYC,” said Editor-in-Chief Derry Koralek. “She is a passionate, dedicated educator who is committed to furthering children’s growth, development, and learning.” 
 
Schmidt is one of a series of excellent preschool educators chosen to be featured on the cover of TYC, which is distributed to 45,000 readers nationwide. Each issue provides useful, research-based ideas that preschool teachers can use in their work with children and families. TYC is also available in Spanish as Tesoros y Colores.
 
Schmidt says that she always knew she wanted to be a teacher, but wasn’t able to pursue her dream until later in life. “I took my first college class at 42,” she says. Now in her 14th year teaching, she has earned bachelor’s, master’s, and educational specialist degrees, as well as National Board Certification.

She describes her own teaching style as individualized, positive, and encouraging, and says that her favorite part of her job is facilitating children’s relationships so that they can learn to act independently.  She currently teaches a morning and afternoon class to children with special needs as well as typical children in the Toledo Public Schools.

In the future, Schmidt says she hopes to educate others about the importance of early education, play-based instruction, and highly qualified teachers.

For more information on TYC and to purchase the latest issue, visit www.naeyc.org/tyc.

Click here to read the cover story.

Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has nearly 90,000 members worldwide. The association is the largest and most influential voice for early childhood education professionals and the field of early childhood education in the United States.