Special Education Committee Honors Students, Teachers

Evan Ramroth from Portsmouth was one of more than 80 students, staff and teachers recognized at the Newport County Regional Special Education Committe's 19th annual Recognition program held at Wednesday night.

Evan was recognized by his teachers for a special bond he had established with an autistic classmate. Nicole Klimek told the audience about a morning when the student had an anxious day, and she knew she had to find Evan.

“When the student saw Evan, his tears stopped flowing," she told the audience.

It was these everyday moments that inspired teachers, staff and students to nominate each other for making a difference.

Trish Martins, director of Special Education, said the event was to celebrate "moments caught on the unified basketball court, on the dance floor, in the community and in our classroom."

Students were also provided the opportunity to celebrate teachers who made a difference.  

Chris Evans, a senior in the Portsmouth High School special education program, recognized his teachers, through an entertaining presentation that cleverly poked fun at the staff and kept the audience laughing.

State Senator Dr. Christopher Ottiano, who attended the event, said he was impressed by the performance.

“Boy, that kid has some great one-liners,” Ottiano said as he laughed at Evan’s jokes.    

The event started out with a performance by Sue Hatch's pre-school class. The kids performed toddler hits such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Peanut Butter and Jelly."

“It’s always an adventure," Hatch joked  to the audience as a couple of her young performers went rouge and improvised their own versions of the performance.

Indviduals from Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton public schools were honored at Wednesday night's ceremony.

Enjoy photos from the event above and feel free to upload your own!