Mr. Kircher Teacher Feature (2014)
Several years ago, Mark Kircher discovered he had a passion for working with special needs children while working as an aide in a special day classroom. He has now been at HILLTOP elementary school as the upper-grade special day class teacher for the past ten years. A very patient individual, he is kind-hearted and sensitive to the individual needs of every student in his class.
"I really enjoy seeing the students grow academically and meet their academic goals,” said Kircher. “It helps make them feel better about their learning and gives them more confidence."
With several students who have a wide range of ability levels in his classroom, it is very tough to individualize instruction to meet their needs but Kircher does this on a daily basis.
"I really couldn't do my job without my classroom aides (Gabby Benetiz, Alejandra Tucker, and Rosa Lopez). They are truly remarkable and work so hard to make our classroom successful. I feel so lucky to have them."
Kircher feels his main role as a special day class teacher is to create and modify curriculum and to always be focusing on his student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals. He believes that everything should be child-based and that his role is to not only work on his students’ education but also to help them become good citizens who are productive in society.
“I feel that flexibility and being able to adapt to changes are important qualities for all teacher, and especially with special day class teachers. If someone is interested in becoming a special day class teacher or an aide in a special day class, I recommend that they volunteer first and become active with a school to see what it is all about.”
If a student is struggling academically in his classroom, Kircher uses visuals, charts, models, and graphic organizers. This helps them to grasp the concepts that they are learning. He also uses SDAIE Strategies (Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English) to help his English language learners.
A typical day in his classroom begins with independent reading followed by Language Arts rotations. This is followed by Math rotations. After lunch, his students are mainstreamed and they do rotations with the general education classrooms. During this time, Mr. Kircher is one of the rotation teachers and teaches social studies and science.
“The whole school is supportive of special day and I’m fortunate to work with a staff that is willing to mainstream and support our kids each and every day.”
Some of the new things going on in his classroom this year include an increased use of technology. Homework assignments can be found online in addition to reading comprehension questions. He is also using Edmodo which is a social learning platform website for teachers, students, and parents. Students are also working more with IPAD for both language arts and math. Additionally, there is also a big emphasis on improving reading skills.
“I think reading different types of text and being active participants in their learning is very important for student success.”
Some of his most gratifying moments as a teacher happen when former students stop by to visit him and he finds out they are in college or have been mainstreamed into general education classes. He also gets a lot of enjoyment from seeing a non-reader in this classroom blossom into a reader.
Kircher hopes to continue teaching at HILLTOP for years to come and strives each year to learn more things to improve his teaching. He also hopes to continue to add more technology to his classroom. He graduated from Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa, California. He then went to college at Fresno State and received a degree in exercise science. Later, he went on to attend Cerritos Junior College where he earned his Physical Therapy Assistant License. He worked five years in this field doing physical therapy in neurological rehabilitation and in-patient rehabilitation. Kircher then went on to complete his Educational Specialist Credential at San Diego State University before getting a job at HILLTOP. He is married to his wife, Janet and has two children (Alia-daughter, age 10 and Noah-son, age 7). He enjoys spending time with his family, surfing, mountain biking, fishing, traveling, reading, and hiking.
Some other things you may not know about Mr. Kircher is that CPR has saved his life twice, he used to paint surfboards when he was younger and he just started texting last year. Something we all know about him is that he is a very dedicated teacher and does a great job shaping and enriching the lives of others.
Several years ago, Mark Kircher discovered he had a passion for working with special needs children while working as an aide in a special day classroom. He has now been at HILLTOP elementary school as the upper-grade special day class teacher for the past ten years. A very patient individual, he is kind-hearted and sensitive to the individual needs of every student in his class.
"I really enjoy seeing the students grow academically and meet their academic goals,” said Kircher. “It helps make them feel better about their learning and gives them more confidence."
With several students who have a wide range of ability levels in his classroom, it is very tough to individualize instruction to meet their needs but Kircher does this on a daily basis.
"I really couldn't do my job without my classroom aides (Gabby Benetiz, Alejandra Tucker, and Rosa Lopez). They are truly remarkable and work so hard to make our classroom successful. I feel so lucky to have them."
Kircher feels his main role as a special day class teacher is to create and modify curriculum and to always be focusing on his student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals. He believes that everything should be child-based and that his role is to not only work on his students’ education but also to help them become good citizens who are productive in society.
“I feel that flexibility and being able to adapt to changes are important qualities for all teacher, and especially with special day class teachers. If someone is interested in becoming a special day class teacher or an aide in a special day class, I recommend that they volunteer first and become active with a school to see what it is all about.”
If a student is struggling academically in his classroom, Kircher uses visuals, charts, models, and graphic organizers. This helps them to grasp the concepts that they are learning. He also uses SDAIE Strategies (Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English) to help his English language learners.
A typical day in his classroom begins with independent reading followed by Language Arts rotations. This is followed by Math rotations. After lunch, his students are mainstreamed and they do rotations with the general education classrooms. During this time, Mr. Kircher is one of the rotation teachers and teaches social studies and science.
“The whole school is supportive of special day and I’m fortunate to work with a staff that is willing to mainstream and support our kids each and every day.”
Some of the new things going on in his classroom this year include an increased use of technology. Homework assignments can be found online in addition to reading comprehension questions. He is also using Edmodo which is a social learning platform website for teachers, students, and parents. Students are also working more with IPAD for both language arts and math. Additionally, there is also a big emphasis on improving reading skills.
“I think reading different types of text and being active participants in their learning is very important for student success.”
Some of his most gratifying moments as a teacher happen when former students stop by to visit him and he finds out they are in college or have been mainstreamed into general education classes. He also gets a lot of enjoyment from seeing a non-reader in this classroom blossom into a reader.
Kircher hopes to continue teaching at HILLTOP for years to come and strives each year to learn more things to improve his teaching. He also hopes to continue to add more technology to his classroom. He graduated from Costa Mesa High School in Costa Mesa, California. He then went to college at Fresno State and received a degree in exercise science. Later, he went on to attend Cerritos Junior College where he earned his Physical Therapy Assistant License. He worked five years in this field doing physical therapy in neurological rehabilitation and in-patient rehabilitation. Kircher then went on to complete his Educational Specialist Credential at San Diego State University before getting a job at HILLTOP. He is married to his wife, Janet and has two children (Alia-daughter, age 10 and Noah-son, age 7). He enjoys spending time with his family, surfing, mountain biking, fishing, traveling, reading, and hiking.
Some other things you may not know about Mr. Kircher is that CPR has saved his life twice, he used to paint surfboards when he was younger and he just started texting last year. Something we all know about him is that he is a very dedicated teacher and does a great job shaping and enriching the lives of others.