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A truly special teacher Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Hedrick Middle School teacher Lisa Luce shares a laugh with student Nick Bliss. Luce won a regional award for her creative methods of teaching life skills to students in her special education class. Regional honor given for Hedrick Middle School efforts By Tony Boom Recycling cans and washing clothes have earned a Hedrick Middle School teacher some national attention. Lisa Luce was named Chadwick�s of Boston�s 2000 Regional Teacher of the Year for the inventive ways she teaches life skills to her special education students in Medford. The award, which covers a 13-state western region, earns Luce $250 and a $250 gift certificate from the fashion firm. Hedrick teacher Linda Maddux nominated her for the award. This isn�t the first time Luce has been recognized for her creativity. Two years ago she received the First Year Teacher Award for Oregon from Sallie Mae; last year she was a finalist for a Chevrolet teaching honor. Luce uses everyday activities � recycling cans, planning trips, cooking and washing clothes � to prepare her dozen developmentally disabled seventh- and eighth-graders for future education, careers and life�s challenges. "The students are earning something for themselves. It�s not just handed to them," said Luce, who teaches her students for three block periods per day with the help of two full-time aides. To help her students learn about money management, Luce pays her students "wages" for attending class, completing tasks, doing homework, getting an A on spelling tests or performing good deeds for others. The wages are deposited in their "Buffalo Bank" accounts and are backed by actual money from the students� recycling project. Students scour neighborhoods for cans as well as collect from Hedrick teachers who bring cans to school. In the process, students learn about planning and organization. They have to keep cans organized at school, distribute fliers in advance of neighborhood visits, and recycle the cans at supermarkets. They are paid with scrip or play coins, which then become deposits in their accounts. The students manage the cash and coins and learn how to handle checking account transactions. Students can then spend their money for a trip to a nearby doughnut shop, for lunch with the teacher or other special activities or toys. To learn cooperation and teamwork, students pool their money to rent a video and have popcorn in the classroom. For bigger projects � like a trip to San Francisco, Portland or Seaside � students plan their itinerary and finance their travel expenses with can drives, car washes and after-school candy sales. Because Luce�s classroom is equipped with a kitchen and a washer and dryer, students learn everyday life skills as well. They clean, fold and organize clothes for the school�s free clothes closet. They cook twice a month and, at the end of the year, they prepare a meal for school administrators. After starting with the in-class activities, "the ideas just started coming," said Luce. "I got to the point where I don�t think about it, I just do it." Luce incorporates academic exercises in her projects to help meet her students� educational needs, such as quiz about San Francisco before a trip there, or bar graphs analyzing the success of a food drive. Luce, 39, earned a degree in psychology from Southern Oregon University, then volunteered a year at Hedrick to determine if she wanted to be a special education teacher. She returned to SOU for certification, then started teaching in 1998. "I knew I wanted to be at the middle school level" where students are "still impressionable and fun," Luce said. "They are mature enough, but not too mature." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.