“I have a personality that’s kind of funny. It’s like, I could have everything, and I still wouldn’t be happy about it. I’m always wanting more. I think my worst fear is just being average.

“When I was in elementary school, I was in what they called the resource room. I was in all the special education classes. I barely got out of high school, just because I wasn’t really interested and didn’t feel like I was learning what I wanted to learn. I figured the only thing I could do was military. So I joined the Army. Served four years as part of the 82nd Airborne. Didn’t think I would ever go to college.

“I got married really young, at 21, but it didn’t last. When I got divorced, I went through this deep depression. I felt like a loser. I was embarrassed.

“About that same time, I had a buddy who committed suicide. It was totally out of the blue. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He was a cop. Getting married the same month. Just went home and shot himself. That really took a big toll. But ultimately, I think it’s what led me to go to college and put me on this path that I’ve taken. It was kind of like revenge. I said, I’m going to make something of myself.

“When I earned my bachelor’s degree, I got in the honor society. Same with my first master’s degree and the next one. Then I was like, well, I may as well get my Ph.D. I’m just finishing the dissertation now.

“I think it’s the work ethic and the drive that makes the difference. If you really want something, you work your ass off to get it. I learned that through everything I’ve experienced in life.

“I love a challenge, man. If you say I can’t do something, I’ll do it.”

— Zack Field

Zack, 31, is executive director of The Waterford at Baytown. Before moving to Texas with his wife, he held leadership positions with several companies. He also is a fitness/nutrition coach and a champion bodybuilder.

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“About two years ago, I decided to go get my bachelor’s degree in special education. I thought it was a good match for me and where my heart is for these kids. But I wouldn’t have done it if not for my youngest son.

“When he was a baby, he was so hard to deal with. He was so extreme. I was just pulling my hair out. I didn’t know what to do. But I remember reading something that said, these are the ones who are going to go after what they want with the most passion.

“When he was in high school, there were so many things going on in our lives. It was me and my three children on my one income. We were really struggling as a family. So I wasn’t on the ball with trying to get him into all the college stuff. He was doing it under the radar, though. He was applying everywhere, doing everything he needed.

“When I finally realized it, I thought, man, if he can do that at his age with all this happening in our lives, why can’t I go back? I always thought I was too old to go back to college, and that I couldn’t get the financial aid I would need. But he really inspired me. I ended up trying, and I got financial aid. I got scholarships. And I was just overwhelmed.

“I told my son that he’s the one who inspired me. He kind of blew it off like, oh mom. All you had to do was just do it. It was like no big deal to him. But he has no idea how proud I am of him. The same goes for my oldest son and my daughter. They have no idea how proud I am of all of them. If I can do anything in life to make them proud of me, that’s all I want.”

— Darlene Houseman

Darlene, 56, is an inclusion paraprofessional in the special education department at Travis Elementary. She attends Western Governors University online.

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“I started working at Travis Elementary about six years ago as a substitute teacher. Then they asked if I wanted to do a full-time position. So I began doing that, and then they moved me into the special education department. I’ve been there for three years as an inclusion paraprofessional.

“I didn’t have a background in it. I guess it was the way I worked with kids, like adapting the lessons to what they need. It’s all about spending quality time with them. There are so many that just get pushed through the system without being noticed for what they can do that is special.

“A lot of kids think, why am I even here? I’m just here because I have to be. I’m not ever going to need this. I’m no good at it anyway. That really gets to me when they say they’re no good or they’ll never be able to learn something. What’s the point? I want them to know that there is a point. That somebody cares.

“Of course their parents care and their teachers care. But I like to show them that I really care about them as a person, as this special one that likes to color purple. I try to know the color they like and what their favorite animal is. I want to know them like I know my own kids.

“I feel like I have a special relationship with the kids, especially one group of fifth-graders who are special ed kids and are in the same homeroom. There’s this one special boy who’s a challenge. He’s so sweet. But he’s so frustrated because he doesn’t believe in himself. He was the last one I hugged in the hallway before the students left for spring break. I told him that I loved him and to come back safe to me after the break.

“But now, because of the situation we’re in with the coronavirus, I’m realizing that I may never see some of these fifth-graders again. That makes me very sad. I really miss those kids. I miss their smiles. Not just smiles with their mouths, but through their eyes. And I miss their hugs.”

— Darlene Houseman

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“I knew that I wanted to become a special education teacher. But life throws you curves sometimes. I graduated high school six months pregnant with my daughter, and I got married right away. Later on, I had a son. By the time he was starting kindergarten, I was 24 and tired of being poor. So I decided to go to college.

“Because of the kids, I went at night and on weekends. It was really hard. I took every class you could possibly take at Lee College before I transferred to Lamar University. Then I started driving three to four times a week to Beaumont at night.

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“I want my students to be advocates for themselves. One of my girls last year was having issues in class, and she came to my room mad. She said, ‘That’s it. We’re going into that class. We’re teaching them about autism.’ I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ We did, and it was great.

“I also had a boy with Tourette syndrome. He made all kinds of vocal tics. One day he said, ‘I’m tired of kids bullying me and picking on me. Let’s go teach them about it.’ And we did. He’s now a senior, and he’s doing amazing.

“In both cases, all the teasing stopped. It’s like kids don’t understand them, so they tend to tease them because they’re a little different. But once they learned about autism and Tourette’s, it’s been great.

“I like to say that the kids I work with have an invisible disability. You can’t see it. They might be in pre-AP classes, and you don’t realize it. It’s just a different wiring. But some of the most famous people have high-functioning autism. These are kids who are going to change the world one day, if they’re able to be in the world. If they’re not at home sitting in a dark place because they don’t know how to deal with society. They just need a little understanding and guidance. They’re going to be something big one day, if they have the right tools to get there and learn how to do it on their own.”

— Jennifer Nerf

Jennifer teaches at Baytown Junior School and directs the FOCUS (Focusing On Communicating and Understanding Social Skills) program for Goose Creek CISD. It is designed for students with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders, including autism, social communication disorder, anxiety disorder and other related challenges.

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“I have a psychiatric disorder. It started getting pretty bad after my grandpa passed on. I began going in and out of psych units. I’ve had some issues, but as long as I continue to take my medications I usually do OK.

“I was shown as being mentally disabled as a child. I was in special ed in school. I don’t really remember that much about it. I loved my childhood.

“When I finished high school, that was the biggest day of my life. It made me feel really good.

“After graduation my uncle said, ‘I’m going to tell you something, bud. This week, me and your aunt are taking you out to dinner. I told you the day that you walked out on that field for graduation, you will have done something that we never did. You’re going to dinner wherever you want to go, so you’d better pick a restaurant.’ ”

What restaurant did you pick?
“Ryan’s.”

— Joshua Johnson

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“I have this literacy foundation. Our goal is to develop and improve skills for young kids who are reading below their grade level.

“It’s important to me because I graduated from high school as a special education student, but I didn’t know how to read. Eventually, I learned with the help of someone at the library who went above and beyond. She did things like go to the store with me to help me read food labels because I wanted to learn how to cook. I owe so much to her.

“After my own children also struggled with reading, I got help for them. They were able to get back on track. That inspired me to help other kids.

“With the support of a lot of people, we’re really making a difference. Being able to help others is a great feeling. I feel like I’m accomplishing something in life.”

— Monica Boyd

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“I grew up in La Porte and he’s from Missouri. I worked for 14 years in the Baytown school district before we lived here. Now I work in Deer Park. I’m a licensed specialist in school psychology. I mostly work with special ed students. I do testing and counseling and lots of reports.”

“She’s very highly sought and one of the best around, I think. I also think she’s lacking in resources. She has much more to do than there’s time to do it in.”

“We could use more people. We have tightened up. But I tell you, the public schools do amazing things with not very much. It’s almost like we have just drilled down to the point where we do extraordinary things with almost nothing. It’s getting pretty creative, but it’s pretty tough.”

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