自拍麻豆另类

October 1, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

A group of aspiring special education teachers from Ramapo College of New Jersey spent the summer gaining hands-on classroom experience, and utilizing the lessons they learned at Ramapo to make a positive impact on diverse learners.

The six students in Ramapo鈥檚 Teacher Education program worked with students enrolled in the Extended School Year (ESY) program at the Forum School, in Waldwick, NJ. The school serves students ages 5-21 with autism and related learning, language, behavioral and social challenges.

鈥淭here is nothing better than hands-on experience to learn about being a special educator,鈥� said Director of the Forum School Brian Detlefsen. 鈥淲orking the ESY program at a school like Forum gives college students a great sampling of what it is like to be in a classroom working with a diverse, yet very rewarding group of students.鈥� The ESY program is designed to extend learning that takes place during the school year, and to minimize regression that could occur over summer break.

The Roadrunners spent four weeks this summer as teaching assistants at the school located less than 10 miles from Ramapo鈥檚 Mahwah campus. In that role, they worked with students both individually and in small groups, supporting them in their daily work and specials, such as art, gym, music and swim, and providing behavioral support.

鈥淚 was really proud of my students because it shows the diversity of how we are training them to work with a variety of populations,鈥� said Julie Norflus-Good, director of the Master of Arts in Special Education (MASE) program at Ramapo College. Norflus-Good also serves as the president of the New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children (NJCEC), a professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and the gifted.

About 14 years ago, Norflus-Good forged a partnership between Ramapo and the Forum School. Through the partnership, older Forum School students visit Ramapo to take part in activities and lessons taught by students enrolled in Norflus-Good鈥檚 upper-level 鈥淗ome and School Communities for Diverse Learners鈥� course.

鈥淢y students create activities and lessons for them to do, but it鈥檚 all directed through me, and what I call a safety-net,鈥� explained Norflus-Good. Ramapo teacher-education students have created lessons on volcanoes, testing aluminum foil boats with pennies, and organized scavenger hunts around campus, she said.

For some Roadrunners like Elementary Education majors Ellie Pepper ’27 ’28, of Mahwah, NJ, and Sophia Dibari ’27 ’28, of Westwood, NJ, working with the Forum School students in Norflus-Good鈥檚 class led to their summer jobs as teaching assistants.

At Ramapo, Pepper worked one-on-one with a young woman named Katie. 鈥淎t the end of the day, I saw that I helped and she was making improvements,鈥� Pepper said.

Then over the summer, Pepper worked in a Forum School classroom with a teacher and five other teaching assistants. The class was made up of six second and third grade boys with autism. 鈥淓ach day we would rotate, so that we would all get experience with all the different modifications in their lessons, which was really nice, because every single one of them was completely different,鈥� she said.

Pepper said the experience bolstered her confidence in her chosen career path. 鈥淣inety nine percent of the time I would come home with a smile on my face,鈥� she said.

Likewise, Dibari said her summer experience was 鈥渧ery fulfilling鈥� and 鈥渧ery rewarding.鈥� She worked one-on-one with a second-grade boy with autism.

Dibari, who has a learning disability in math, said she chose to pursue special education because she wants to be a support for others. 鈥淚 had those few teachers that did a lot for me, and I felt like I wanted to become one of them,鈥� she shared.

Both Dibari and Pepper are enrolled in Ramapo鈥檚 comprehensive MASE 4+1 Dual Certification program, which offers students the option of a five-year integrated undergraduate and graduate program that prepares them to be both elementary or secondary content area teachers, as well as teachers of students with special needs.

The ambitious pair and their classmates are just a few in a long line of Roadrunners who have worked with students at the Forum School. Five recent graduates of Ramapo鈥檚 MASE program are now teaching at the school.

鈥淲hat started as a simple project has truly blossomed,鈥� shared Norflus-Good. 鈥淭his unique and innovative community partnership has, over the years, created a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship between the Forum School and Ramapo.鈥�

To learn more about Teacher Education at Ramapo, including the MASE program, visit Ramapo鈥檚 Teacher Education webpage.