Christopher Lane has been an integral part of the Angell school community since 2014, when his oldest daughter started kindergarten there. His involvement and volunteering increased significantly when his autistic son started kindergarten in 2017, and he worked closely with staff to ensure his son’s successful integration.
Lane has been employed at Angell since the 2018-2019 school year, starting as a noon hour supervisor. Two years later, he moved into the position of teaching assistant. Lane works most frequently with lower elementary students (Y5, K, 1st) but has spent time with all grade levels. He has continued his noon hour supervision as well as TA duties after moving into the position, helping to assist special needs students in all grades during their lunch and recess times.
Angell Principal Meg Fenech says Lane (AKA Mr. Chris) is known for his kindness, which creates a welcoming and positive atmosphere in the classroom and playground.
“Students feel safe and supported because Mr. Chris is endlessly patient, calm, and compassionate,” she says. “His work and dedication to the Angell community is such a gift!”
Q: How has your personal experience as a parent of a child with autism influenced your approach as a teaching assistant?
A: My son, Ryden, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at five years old and exhibited a large range of behaviors along the spectrum. I began attending Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy with him shortly after his diagnosis and worked closely with his BCBA in documenting and implementing techniques at home. I feel that the general exposure and learning how to calmly and patiently navigate his behaviors prepared me so much for stepping into the role of TA. Much of what I was learning with him in therapy was also the foundation of the professional development that TAs are provided, so the knowledge always had both a strong personal and professional worth to me.
So many times, when I am working with a student and a behavioral situation arises, I often have in the back of my mind: “How would I approach Ryden in this situation?” or “How would I want a TA working with Ryden to de-escalate this?” I want to always preserve the student’s dignity and avoid embarrassment while also finding a suitable path to get them back on track learning and having fun.
Q: What motivated you to transition from a parent volunteer to a full-time staff member at Angell?
A: Honestly, I was going through quite a chaotic period in my life when I decided to make the transition. I was amid finalizing my divorce, about to make a big move, and just life upheaval in general. During that time Angell really became my stable and grounding place. The kids and community always kept me smiling and positive and constantly made me feel loved and appreciated. It was quite a no-brainer to transition over to full-time staff when I was made the offer when Angell became short on TAs. I also already had a great relationship with the child and family that they wanted me to work with, so it really all fell into place quite naturally.
Q: Can you describe a typical day in your role as a teaching assistant, particularly when working
with special needs students?
A: I begin my mornings by greeting our arriving students at 8:30. Then I help supervise breakfast and escort our youngest students to their appropriate spots. Several of our special needs students come in for breakfast, so I get to check in with them first thing and try to get the day started on a positive note.
I am typically assigned to a student for the morning until lunch (8:45-11:45). After making sure our breakfast friends head to class on time, I get settled in with the student I am working with. This involves assistance with morning work, often with the help of visual aides and/or a star chart to begin working toward a “choice reward” activity for the day. Circle times in the morning are often one of the more difficult activities for our special needs students due to the heavy nature of “social rules” embedded in it and just generally having to be still for an extended period. I will often try to engage in a separate work or activity in another part of the classroom if it is a day that they are struggling to functionally integrate.
As it gets later into the morning, overstimulation from the classroom often occurs and I try to stay on top of recognizing the need for a sensory or movement activity break if they do not ask for one themselves. We have a few stations around Angell depending on which break need is required and usually one-one work first eases the transition back into the class setting.
At 11:45 I transition over to lunch duties with our Y5-2nd grade lunch first followed by 3rd-5th grade lunch. For both lunch periods, I help with the line-up and transitioning grades from eating and play. I also provide supervision on the playground making sure to check that everything is going well with our special needs kids who are out at the time.
I typically have a second student to work with in the afternoon after lunch. This has been an upper-grade student for me recently. I have found that this provides a good balance as the morning is usually more physically active with lots of moving and redirection where the afternoon tends to present more mental battles keeping my student focused and on track with the day’s assignments.
Q: What do you find most rewarding about working with your students?
A: Being able to contribute to and experience one of their “light switch” moments when they truly learn a skill or academic task and you can just see it in their face! Their eyes light up and the happiness of understanding and getting it correct is such a joy to witness. I have learned that I must temper my reaction to their success sometimes because that sense of achievement can manifest in many ways. Many times, it is excitement and happiness, but it can also bring tears or needing alone time to let the moment sink in. No matter how it affects them afterward, that initial eyes shining moment will always be something that I love and find so rewarding.
Q: Is it difficult to hold two roles at the school?
A: There are certainly days that I feel the extra exhaustion after more eventful lunch times, but overall, I really love the unique perspective I can get doing both. Being able to observe the interactions in their friend groups and how they choose to play during lunch often gives deeper insights and allows for piecing some things together that you might not get a full picture of strictly in an academic setting.
Q: Is it hard to be an Angell parent and staff member?
A: It took some getting used to interactions with my son when he was there. For example, a more explosive behavior might occur that I would intervene in, and he would feel comfortable being a little physical with me. Other staff would observe this and properly reprimand him for that behavior, but it would be something I would let pass at home. As time went on though, it became a positive in setting the same boundaries and expectations at home as would be expected at school. Otherwise, the experience of being both has been extremely positive. I always had great relationships with my kids’ teachers and many of them are now my co-workers this handful of years later and still checking in on them!
Q: Can you share a success story of a student you’ve worked with who has made significant
progress?
A: During teacher appreciation week the end of the last school year (23-24) I received a lengthy and heartfelt letter from a graduating 5th grader. This student was an ELL student whom I did not directly work with, but during her K and 1st grade years spent a lot of time with and tried to facilitate making friends and having others join in activities with us. Her English improved immensely by 2nd grade, and she started to form her own friend group much to my happiness. It was great watching her grow and cheering her on more distantly as we didn’t have much interaction the following years. As a 5th grader, seemingly suddenly to me, she started actively seeking me out and sharing about her days and inviting me to play games with her friends during lunch. In her appreciation letter, she related a story of a time during 2nd grade when she had a big disagreement with her friend and was very upset and really didn’t know what to do to fix it. She remembered that I had noticed and inquired about it to her friend she was in disagreement with, prompting them the start making amends. It was something small that I had forgotten about, but stayed with her and meant the world at the time. It was such a good reminder that as educators and humans, we never know what small actions we take that might have such a profound effect on someone. It is so important to always try to approach any situation with compassion and empathy.
Q: What advice would you give to parents of children with special needs who are just starting their school journey?
A: Open and honest communication with teachers and the child’s team is so crucial. We all want to focus on and nourish strengths and positive factors, but it’s also important to understand what difficult times at home might look like as well. Being caught off guard isn’t fun for anyone, so the more that everyone can be on the same page and address behaviors in the same manner produces so much more growth. The early elementary journey can be very tiring and trying as well, but know that as your child grows, matures, and better understands themselves, they’ll be able to regulate themselves and utilize the tools and techniques they are consistently practicing.
Q: What do you like about working at AAPS, and Angell in particular?
A: I’ve had so many positive experiences and personal interactions since joining AAPS. At every level from getting basic paperwork and orientation done through TA-specific training, I have seen so much passion and been given so much support in my endeavors. At Angell, I love the diversity you experience at all levels. Whether cultural, religious, or socio-economic—everyone enjoys learning and celebrating each other and as a community facilitates equal access for everyone to excel and have fun.
Q: In your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges faced by special needs students in a school environment?
A: When I am working with a student I try to make my first goal of understanding what their mannerisms and behaviors are trying to communicate. They are all so brilliant academically. It’s just that their approach and output may not look typical, so I try to navigate that maze of figuring out how they best process and produce both academically and socially. I feel that my role doesn’t stop at just assisting the child, but also helping the peers and adults they interact with understand how they communicate as well.
Helping teachers and peers understand what certain actions and behaviors are communicating so that a meaningful relationship free of misunderstandings can exist is always my end goal. This of course takes a lot of time and patience, and I think it’s so important for a TA to be invested to tackle this because it is probably our special needs kids’ biggest challenge. Since we are with them a lot of time through all aspects of their day (primary class, specials, recess) we as TAs get to observe and understand the full motion of their days. This allows us to play such a critical role in communicating and sharing all the information we learn with those around us to help make everyone more comfortable.
Q: Between your job and your family, that’s a lot of “kid time.” Does it ever seem to be too much? If so, how do you handle it?
A: When I first started out as staff at Angell and my kids were younger, there was certainly a very fine line transitioning from work to home. I would catch myself using more school-directed phrases at my kids and laugh at myself often! On a more serious note, I did catch myself starting to become more easily agitated with everyday sass and back and forth from my kids earlier on. This propelled me to start focusing more on myself and my mental health.
After my first year of being a TA, I started to make small strides in being health and wellness-conscious and began making lifestyle changes. It was cool because that summer it kind of became a whole family momentum and it has been a continuing endeavor since. This is really what helped me to handle the stressors from work and better separate between work and home. Aside from being more active and health conscious, reading was easily one of my big re-discoveries to help my mind settle on the more hectic days. I was always an avid reader throughout my childhood up through having my kids and reading to them. As they aged out of being read to and life became so busy, I realized that reading was something that I largely abandoned for a few years. Getting back into continuous reading has stimulated my imagination, love for learning, and love for helping kids learn to read in so many ways!
Q: All-time favorite restaurant, movie, and book:
A: It’s not very often that I eat out without at least one kid attached, but if the opportunity provided, Seva is always a fun splurge. (Our family is vegetarian.) Red Robin is a favorite with the kids along.
Hayao Miyazaki’s “Princess Mononoke” is one of my favorite movies. I’m a Botany/Ecology and Evolutionary Biology graduate and have always been fascinated by the diversity and healing properties of nature since I was little. Its presentation of these themes really resonated with me since my first watch.
Book-wise, I’m a huge reader of high fantasy. R. Scott Bakker’s “The Prince of Nothing” trilogy has stayed close to me since I started it in college and matured with it into later adulthood.
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