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05/04/2016 08:30 AMAfter nearly four decades of working with students at ACES Village School in North Haven, Patty Spinello will be retiring at the end of the school year. With the last day of school on June 14 quickly approaching, Patty has been busy with testing, preparing her 8th-grade students for their stepping up ceremony, conducting evaluations, and more.
“We’re busy now, but even with so much going on, I find myself looking at the children and my eyes well up with tears,” says Patty, who has worked at Village School for 38 years. “Not all people get to work at something they truly love, but I’ve had that opportunity for all those years, to work with students and hopefully make a difference and that means everything.”
Patty has nine students this year; five will be moving on to high school. Her goal for the remainder of the school year is to explain her retirement to her remaining students.
“It saddens me to think those remaining might not understand why I don’t come back in the fall,” says Patty. “I love them all. As June 14 grows nearer, it will become more difficult for me to say goodbye.”
When she was a student at North Haven High School, Patty was drawn to the special education classroom where the teacher, Al Palmer, encouraged her and others to come in and work with his students. While she was interested in the special education field, Patty didn’t go directly into college after high school.
In 1978, she got a job at ACES Village School as a transport aide and, as she spent more time with the students and at the school, she remembered the passion she had for the field. Patty slowly began to work toward her bachelor’s degree at Southern Connecticut State University.
“It wasn’t until I became a teacher’s aide that I decided I could do more, so I sent myself back to school...over a long period of time, one to two courses at a time while working full-time,” says Patty, who went on to earn her master’s degree from Southern. “I am grateful that, even though I didn’t really have a plan for my life coming out of high school, my life took the course it did. Everything fell into place. I was taken in this direction because I belong where. These kids and this job fit like a glove.”
In 1986, a teacher left Village School, leaving an opening that Patty was hired to fill. Over the past 30 years, she has taught more than 300 students aged 2 ½ to 21. Working with so many students and their families over the years has not only left a mark on Patty, but on her students and their families as well.
“She is a dedicated teacher who goes above and beyond for her students,” says Carmela Marino, a grandmother of one of Patty’s students. “What a wonderful teacher she is and we are extremely happy with my grandson’s progress in her classroom. He cannot wait to go to school every day.”
Patty is just as grateful to the families she has, noting that there have been so many who have volunteered in the classroom, baked cookies, donated items or funds, or sent notes of appreciation. She has also received support from her colleagues at the school, seeing how working together can help so many students.
“There’s something incredible that happens at Village School. It’s an incredible team of administration, teaching colleagues, paraprofessionals, therapists, students, and their families,” says Patty. “The growth we see is incredible as students change behaviors and develop independence. I see it all around me every day. I see the love and support of this Village family that has kept me there all these years.”
In the classroom, Patty focuses on teaching her students skills that they can use beyond the classroom. She also credits her sense of humor and lighthearted personality as a key to her success.
Despite the challenges of her job, there are countless sweet memories that Patty recalls from her years as a teacher. One year, she had a student who earned a dollar at the end of the week for his behavior. Around the holidays, she and the students had been discussing things they liked.
“I had mentioned I liked snow globes and he went to the dollar store with the dollar he earned, bought one, wrapped it in newspaper and gave it to me,” says Patty. “My heart shattered into a million pieces because it wasn’t something someone else had bought. He thought about what he wanted to give me. Moments like that are why I enjoy teaching. Fortunately there have been a lot of them.”
With June 14 on the horizon, Patty is considering what she will do with her retirement as she says she likes to be busy. She will be getting settled in a new home after moving, but she is staying local so she is able to help her parents with their needs.
Patty, who has a pit bull rescue named Petey, would like to spend more time volunteering in retirement, hoping to spend hours at animal rescues or rocking premature babies at the hospital.
“What is our purpose on this earth if we can’t help someone or something in some way?,” asks Patty, who is married with one son.
For now, though, Patty is concentrating on helping her students. She admits that the hardest part about retiring will be leaving them and her colleagues behind.
“I can only hope that I’ve helped them as much as they’ve helped me along the way,” says Patty. “I teach these students, but what I’ve learned from them over all these years is incredible—seeing their kindness, forgiveness, and tolerance. They see each day as a new day to start anew.”