Special Education Teacher
Email
Phone: 920-894-2263
Hello. My name is Jennifer Christopherson. I graduated from Kiel in 1993 and went onto receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP) in Health Promotion/Wellness and Sports Medicine.
After receiving my degree from UWSP I returned to the area where I have worked various jobs. I started working for the school district as a substitute teacher in 2000. I worked as a substitute for three years before I was hired as a special education paraprofessional. It was after my first year as a paraprofessional that I decided to return to school (Silver Lake College) and pursue a teaching license in Special Education. Simultaneously with earning my licence in Special Education I took classes to earn my Master's Degree. I completed my Master's Degree in December of 2010 with graduation being held in May of 2011.
The 2007-2008 school year was my first year as a full time special education teacher. My first year came with many great opportunities for myself and my students. I was busy working with students, parents, faculty, administration, and the community to start an 18-21 Year Old Program for our students who remain in school until the age of 21.
The 18-21 Year Old Program know better as Kiel Creating Independence or KCI focuses on daily living, social, employment, communication, and a variety of other skills necessary to the success of our students in the community. Students participate in daily living skills within a simulated apartment setting. While at the apartment students focus on skills such as: cooking, cleaning, maintaining a living space, shopping, budgeting, checking accounts, recreation. Students work in community based settings (Zielanis Elementary, Kiel Middle School, and various community business') to learn valuable employability skills. They also make connections to Outside Adult Agencies that will assist them in finding employment, housing, transportation, health care, etc. once they have finished their schooling.
At the end of the 2013-14 school year I received information regarding a SPARKS Grant from the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD). The purpose of the grant was to organize local grassroots groups that identify and make changes in their communities that result in a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities. IWith some help, I applied for the grant and we found out in early September that we were one of the groups chosen. My idea for the grant was to start a club where students with and without disabilities could participate in actiivities, outside of the normal school day. Thus, Kiel Friends Club (KFC) was started. Visit the Kiel Friends Club Website to see what activities the club has planned, pictures of past events, and for contact information.
