2010 - Regional Teacher of the Year - Aimee Simington-Pierce

Aimee is a special education teacher at McLoughlin. She is also a National Board Certified Teacher.



Aimee’s job is to take on the most challenging students, to peel back the layers of frustration and misunderstanding and to help them develop the skills they need to be successful. She approaches each student by assessing first what they are good at and using those things as a spring board to the next goal. As a life-long learner, Aimee embraces each student’s challenges as an opportunity to learn something new herself. Over the past three years she has completed her Masters program, attended Guided Language Acquisition Design training, participated in an OSPI Science Content Workgroup and earned her National Board Certification.



Aimee is committed to mainstreaming her students whenever possible. Her students attend school dances and have general education ‘buddies’ and attend general education classes once a day. She envisions a classroom immersed in diversity; one where her students are learning alongside highly capable kids and English language learners.



Aimee strives for immersion for herself as well. In fact, last January she organized a large team of students, parents and teachers from McLoughlin to participate in a Special Olympics fundraiser called the Polar Bear Plunge. They won Top Fundraising School and because of her enthusiastic recruitment, students from 8 of the 10 district life skills classes participated in the Special Olympics.



Her principal, Michelle Whitney, reflects: “She is an agent of change, who has impacted McLoughlin Middle School in more ways that I can mention, and she can ever imagine or would be willing to admit. Her humble and kind demeanor is steadfast and admirable. She is a gift.”



Aimee’s areas of expertise include: Special education, Inclusion/mainstreaming, Data collection for IEPs, Alternative assessment, Behavior management, Parent participation and Community outreach