Dos Pueblos High School Special Education Teacher, Jacob Boone, was honored as Special Education Teacher of the Year by the Santa Barbara County Special Education Local Plan Area.
“It’s nice to get recognition [because] I do work hard; however, I feel like I should give credit to my team,” Boone said. “I have nine people, plus student teachers, and TAs come in and they help me out. It’s not like I’m doing it myself, so it’s really a team effort.”
Boone shared that he was shocked when he was honored as Special Education Teacher of the Year.
“I’m relatively new, so I was a little bit shocked,” Boone said. “I was emotional because anytime you work really hard, something comes out of it.”
Boone added that receiving the award is not how he measures his success and ability to do his job.
“I figured my success is measured not in how many awards I get or recognition,” Boone said, “but in how [students] come to me at the beginning of the day and how they leave at the end of the day, as far as attitude and confidence, or how I watch them grow throughout the years.”
According to Boone, his role as a special education teacher is to make sure his students benefit, and he reminds himself that he does this for them.
“To me, the most important thing is the students,” Boone said. “I try to look through their eyes and remember that the way they see things is different, and just kind of always remind myself that the reason that I’m here is for the students, and just try to make them stronger and more independent.”
According to Boone, he had not initially intended to work in the special needs field, but working at a day program helping students with special needs changed his view.
“It was when I started working there at the day program that I decided to go ahead and do that, because I just felt so fulfilled doing unselfish work,” Boone said. “And I just really like serving others, and it’s almost like not completely unselfish either, because it makes me feel so good.”
Boone has worked with special needs students for about 20 years and said he has a busy work day as a DPHS Special Education Teacher.
“If I were to tell you what my day to day is like, you wouldn’t believe me, and it’d probably stress you out,” Boone said. “I wake up early, I go to bed late. Be the first one here, last one to leave. Try to be a good example throughout the day. Live up to ‘practice what I preach,’ but … my students make it worth it, and my staff inspires me.”
Boone believes that more people are needed in his line of work.
“Overall, there’s still not nearly enough teachers in this role; we need a lot more special ed teachers,” Boone said. “I think it’s important that more people … think about going into this field to serve this population of people.”
