Amy Terry: A new and special position

 

September 9, 2020

In a year with an unusually small number of staffing changes for Big Sandy schools, one major change isn't a new face. It's a well-loved teacher in a new role: Ms. Amy Terry has shifted to a full-time focus on Special Education at FE Miley Elementary School. For the last two years, she has been operating in a dual capacity, as both the second-grade teacher and the Special Education teacher. The shift in roles took place after the school went through a period of rapid turnover in Special Education teachers.

Now, with Mr. Parker coming onto the staff as the new second grade teacher, Ms. Terry is now able to focus her full attention on the student population with special needs. She has been teaching in Big Sandy for six of her thirteen years as an educator. She earned her Master's Degree in Special Education from Montana State. She taught Special Education with high school students in Denton, MT for several years before coming home to Big Sandy. The experience was rewarding but emotionally taxing.

Amy was inspired to go into Special Education by her experience as Mr. Brumwell's teacher's aide during her high school years. At the time, Mr. Brumwell was the Special Education teacher. The experience made a lasting impression on her. She was further pressed toward serving special needs students by her years teaching pre-school and working with the Human Resources Development Counsel providing childcare assistance, specifically working with students who had behavior problems in the classroom setting. She found that the unique challenges related to teaching students with educational challenges fit her well, and she felt called to work with the kids who needed the most help. One of her favorite aspects of teaching Special Education is discovering the tweaks and changes that can help students reach their potential.

Over the last few years, Big Sandy has seen an increase in special needs students, largely because of the growth in the size of the school, though Ms. Terry credits some of it to the increased awareness of special needs. Not too long ago, learning disabilities were untreated because we simply didn't know what they were. Now students get the help they need to succeed in the classroom.

Amy has three kids of her own. Her daughter is 25 years old and works for TC Energy in North Dakota. Her boys, Hunter and Wiley, attend Big Sandy High School. She feels that the move to Big Sandy six years ago has been particularly good for her boys, who have enjoyed the outdoors activities and the sports environment our town has to offer.

Amy is working three jobs right now. In addition to teaching in Big Sandy, she holds an Adjunct Professorship at Northern. She also works for the census in the evenings and on weekends. For fun, Amy plays piano and reads historical fiction and fantasy novels. She also loves spending time on her parents' ranch, riding horses and enjoying nature. Since the lockdown, she has taken up walking for exercise with Cat Lopez. When her daughter graduated, the two went on the trip of a lifetime: exploring Ireland together. She particularly loved the abbeys and centuries old cemeteries.

She says the best part of teaching in Big Sandy Schools is the camaraderie amongst the teaching staff.

 
 

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