Today we’d like to introduce you to Bari Levin.
Bari, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been a special educator for the last 31 years and currently have been teaching at Golf Middle School for the last 27 years. The last ten years, I have been on the executive board of Special Kids Network and have been involved with a national mentoring program Eye to Eye as a school sponsor. Eye to Eye has a chapter from Northwestern University and Golf Middle School. Eye to Eye is a national, award-winning mentoring program for students with learning and attention issues. We train high school and college students with learning differences, including dyslexia and ADHD, to mentor similarly-identified middle school students. www.eyetoeyenational.org
I have been able to incorporate my work with Special Kids Network and Eye to Eye. I have seen the incredible benefits of the program for last ten years. I have seen my students and mentors have grown throughout the years. With our fundraisers, through Special Kids Network, we have been able to support organizations and programs for children and young adults with special needs and have raised over 1.5 million dollars.
Special Kids Network is an independent non-profit organization that was created to provide funding for programs that help children and young adults with special needs. Our mission is to create community awareness and raise funds in support of organizations who believe that every child and young adult, regardless of the nature of their background or disability, should be able to enjoy life to its fullest and to participate in the mainstream of their community.
Since my involvement, with Special Kids Network and Eye to Eye, I believe I am a more active educator. I have been able to work closely with my staff, administration, parents, and students to provide the best educational experience. I am able to provide an environment where I work with my students to embrace their learning differences, learn their educational strengths and needs, their accommodations, and learn to self-advocate.
What are the challenges along the way?
Struggles along the way – time commitment, teaching parents & staff and trying to get them to truly understand learning differences, students being accepted, finding ways to not burn out when too involved.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Golf Middle School – Special Kids Network/Eye to Eye – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am most proud of my work where I am able to incorporate my love and passion of teaching at Golf Middle School and helping others through Special Kids Network & Eye to Eye. I am able to see my hard work from our fundraisers help programs for children and young adults with special needs and I actually get to see the benefit first hand with Eye to Eye as one of the benefactors. With the mentoring program, I get to see how my students discuss their learning difference with a college student who understands what is it like.
I believe that my staff, students, parents, administration, and SKN board have seen my passion and excitement to create the best educational environment. During Eye to Eye’s Strike Out Stigma month, I will incorporate ways to have my students Skype with successful people who have learning differences – learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, make signs of embracing their learning difference, chalking outside the school – LD proud to be, ADHD proud to be, working with my students to share their story, having a panel of former students discussing their challenges and successes of their learning difference experiences. etc. I have to say that I have been able to reach out have gotten successful actors to Skype with my students – Kenny Johnson (currently of SWAT) and Chris Williams (Dodgeball, The Great Indoors, Silicon Valley). My students still talk out these experiences.
I believe that I am able to have discussions with my students at a middle school level to help them feel confident in who they are and that they can be successful in life. My goal is for my students to have pride in their learning differences and be able to advocate for themselves before they leave middle school.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plan for the future is to retire from teaching by the year 2021 (3 school years after this year) and work for Eye to Eye and share my networking experience, fundraising experience, teaching experience and passion for helping the LD community.
Contact Info:
- Address: Special Kids Network
1121 Lake Cook Rd., Suite P,
Deerfield, IL 60015Bari Levin
Golf Middle School
9401 Waukegan Road
Morton Grove, IL 60053 - Website: www.speciakidsnetwork.org www.eyetoeyenational.org www.golf67.net
- Phone: 847-401-3213
- Email: bari@specialkidsnetwork.org blevin@golf67.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpecialKidsNetwork/ https://www.facebook.com/BLevin11
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BLevin11 https://twitter.com/SpecialKidsNet https://twitter.com/E2ENational
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