Slater is fulfilling her childhood dream as a teacher

An uninspiring college professor almost derailed Beth Slater’s desire to be a teacher.

She overcame that negative experience and is currently starting her eighth year at Charlotte Central School working with special education students, the last three as director of student support services.

“When I was a little girl, I played dress-up teacher,” Slater said, “and I was always in awe of my teachers.”

She started her undergraduate career as an education major, but the professor soured her on that field of study. She switched to communications and after graduating, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for a government lobbying firm.

Slater was living in Washington during the attacks of Sept. 11. After that traumatic event, she reevaluated her life and realized that her work was not fulfilling. She wanted a job that would ignite her passion, so she returned to school and got her master’s degree in special education.

She chose special education, in part, because she babysat for several families when she was younger and enjoyed the challenge of taking care of neurodiverse children.

Although Slater was born in Massachusetts, she has lived in Vermont for most of her life. She grew up in the Rutland area, and after her time in Washington, she returned to the Green Mountain State, living first in Williston and then South Burlington.

Slater’s first Vermont job was in the Grand Isle Supervisory Union where she spent 14 years. After awhile, the distance and the fact that she had two school-aged kids at home led her to look for opportunities closer to her home.

She was thrilled when she was offered the job at Charlotte Central School. Half of Slater’s job is direct special education work with eighth graders while the other half is administrative, as director of student support services.

“I love Charlotte Central School,” Slater said. “My favorite part is that it’s such a small, closeknit community of staff and caregivers. It’s a place where everyone knows your name.”

In Slater’s eyes, the school is both big enough and small enough. She takes pride in having good relationships with her students and their caregivers.

Special education has changed dramatically since Slater started out in the field. She notes that in the early years she did home visits for students who had no alternative programs because the public schools wouldn’t meet their needs.

She describes her classroom work with other students as having been a very clinical model. Students would be pulled out of class for 20 to 30 minutes to work with her. Then they’d return to their classes and the next batch of students would arrive.

“We have shifted to a more inclusive model,” Slater said. “We have special educators embedded in the classroom when we can.”

Her direct work with students brings her into the classroom but also allows her to work with them one-on-one or in small groups to teach specific skills.

“With that embedded model,” she said, “special educators can help all students.”

Slater believes that these days there is less stigma attached to students requiring extra assistance.

“There will always be pockets of students that lack empathy or grace and want to make disparaging remarks,” she said, “but I think we have normalized neurodiversity. We are all the same and we are all different and we can have open and honest conversations.”

For many students, Slater said, their neurodiversity is no longer a secret. When confidentiality isn’t an issue, she believes her department does a good job in educating other students about what their fellow students might need.

Slater continues to be pleased that one bad professor didn’t keep her from following her dream.

“Every day is a challenge, but every day brings me joy,” she said. “You never know what you’ll find.”

Slater recognizes that teachers can’t assume that all students have a good home life or that they want to come to school. Therefore, it’s important to be flexible and she relishes the opportunity to think outside the box. She also thrives on the collaborative environment she shares with her colleagues.

Recently, Slater attended an in-school training session and one of the presenters was a former student. Slater had worked with the student for nine years and was an integral part of her education. Now, years later, the roles were reversed.

“It was a full circle, and it was heart-warming,” she said. “It’s great when you can reconnect with students when they’ve grown and are out in the community. All students have potential and it’s amazing to see how that turns out when they get older.”