Annie Sullivan Award winner's entire life focused on special education

Apr. 29—Michele Parmelee seems destined to have ended up where she did.

Growing up, she always wanted to work in education. She's not really sure why — she didn't have any educators in her family — but it was something she was drawn to.

Funny enough, both of her siblings shared her dream, with each ending up pursuing careers as teachers.

"I guess we played school a lot as kids or something," Parmelee said with a laugh.

Parmelee studied education at Penn State University, but just after she left the school life threw her a curveball that diverted her path to becoming a teacher. She got pregnant and gave birth to a son.

It turns out, he was diagnosed with severe autism.

Parmelee put her career aspirations on hold to focus intensely on raising her son.

"I wanted to be a teacher, but it was so hard," she said. "He took up so much of my time."

When her son was old enough to head off to school, Parmelee thought again about reviving her dream of teaching. But, once again, life had other plans.

She gave birth to her second child, a daughter, who was also diagnosed with autism. Again, Parmelee's pursuit of a career in education was put on hold.

It wasn't until her daughter was old enough to go to school that Parmelee finally was able to chase her dream. She did so by taking a job as an emotional support classroom paraprofessional at Mount Penn Elementary Center.

Working with students with special needs was right up her alley, having spent more than a decade completely immersed in that world.

"When I interviewed here, the principal was worried I'd burn out because of everything I had going on with my kids," she said. "I told him, 'Give me the opportunity and we'll see.'"

Parmelee was given the opportunity, and she thrived. She has worked as a paraprofessional in the Antietam School District for the last 13 years, connecting with students and helping them reach their potential.

"When I started working with special education kids it just clicked," she said. "It's what I'm good at."

For her dedication, passion and skill, Parmelee, who for the past two years has worked in an autistic support classroom at Mount Penn Primary Center, was recently honored as the winner of the 2024 Annie Sullivan Award.

The award is given out each year by the Berks County Intermediate Unit to recognize local educators for their service to students with special needs. It is named after Helen Keller's devoted teacher and mentor, who was nearly blind herself.

"I was pretty shocked," Parmelee said of the honor. "I didn't think I was winning, at all.

"The company I was in that night, everybody deserved it. Everybody."

Parmelee said all of the other 19 finalists clearly had a passion for working with students with special needs. Of course, she does, too.

"This isn't just a career for me, this is my life," she said.

Parmelee said she feels blessed to be able to work in special education, saying the students she gets to work with make the job incredibly rewarding. As a paraprofessional, she supplements what the classroom's teacher does and gets a chance to work with many students one-on-one.

"When you finally reach them and you see something click for them, it's amazing," she said. "When you find how a kid can learn — because they're all different — you just roll with that."

Parmelee said she believes the key to being successful in special education is simple.

"It's having the patience to know you're not going to save the world in one day, or even in a year," she said. "And it's knowing when to ask for help."

She also said she tries to use her experience with her own children to inform how she does her job.

"When my kids were in school and I would go to meetings with their teachers I'd tell them I just want my kids to be happy, that's all," she said. "I want them to want to come to school. That's what I want for these kids, too."

Outside of her career in education, Parmelee and her children — who are now 26 and 21 — enjoy hiking and other outdoor activities. The family lives in Oley Township and also enjoys traveling.