Orange County Public Schools Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teacher, Hannah Ehrli, spoke on Capitol Hill on behalf of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
Ms. Ehrli is the CEC 2012 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year. The award is regarded as the highest national honor for a teacher of students with exceptionalities.
While in Washington, D.C., Ehrli spoke in support of special education research and how improved funding has helped academic, behavioral, and lifelong outcomes for children with and without disabilities.
Ehrli focused her remarks on how she relies on high quality, evidence-based practices to hone her teaching skills and positively impact students.
“I have high expectations for all of my students because I know they can learn. It is my job to figure out how to make that happen – and it’s that challenge that brings me back to the classroom every day. But it is research and the development of evidence-based practices that make my students’ achievement a reality,” she said.
Ehrli is also a National Board Certified teacher who has worked at OCPS for 10 years. She is currently teaching a prekindergarten class for students with autism in a pilot program at Dr. Phillips High School, which allows for collaboration with high school students.
