Special Education Graduate Receives Marva Collins Diversity Award

Mrs. Wendy Jacob received the Marva Collins Diversity Award from the Division of Learning Disabilities at the annual Council for Exceptional Children conference held in San Diego, April 2015.

The award is given annually to those who have made a significant impact in the education of children and youths with learning disabilities and other special needs who come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  Jacob, an SDSU College of Education graduate, teaches students with mild to moderate disabilities in the San Diego Unified School District.

Jacob earned the award through her creation of an innovative program to address the needs of struggling readers.  By working with credential candidates who provide small group guided reading, Jacob was able to assist in the implementation of Tier 1 through Tier 3 response to reading intervention and reading support. 

In her nomination letter, Associate Professor Dr. Angela McIntosh writes, "As a special education teacher, Mrs. Jacob strives to create and maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and is a place where students from diverse backgrounds feel safe, believe they can achieve, and strive to reach their truest potential.  Her passion for teaching can be seen in the way she interacts with students and their parents both inside and outside of the classroom."