Road to Success: Shockley sets up students to soar

Cassie Shockley, TRIAD teacher at Peeples Elementary, helps her students build skills and independence. 

Shockley knew all the way back in 1st grade that she wanted to be an educator, thanks to the inspiration of her own teacher.

“She showed us she really cared about us and wanted us all to succeed,” Shockley remembered. “Every day I would go home and basically replicate the day. I would read to my imaginary students.”

As a TRIAD teacher, she typically works with kids on the autism spectrum. They may not have the communication and language of other students, and they may have other impairments.

“We definitely praise the moments that most people would take for granted,” she said. “We’re helping them build their social skills and their emotional skills.”

Together with her paraprofessional, the goal is helping her students build strategies to succeed anywhere in the school.

“That is our ultimate goal, to be able to move them from a modified self-contained classroom to a general education classroom.”

In her 7th year at Peeples, she still lives by the teaching philosophy she wrote in college.

“Teachers are like road signs that lead students through the bumpy roads in life. It requires you to set your heart on the table, creativity to shine, and to take one step into their world and bring them one step closer to ours.”

“The Honor Role,” an official podcast for Fayette County Public Schools, features employees, rotating through key stakeholders, including teachers, staff, nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. Join us as we dive in and learn about their journeys, their inspirations, and their whys.

Episodes are available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and promoted on the social media channels of Fayette County Public Schools.

Episodes will also be available here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2200811.