New special education teacher Katie Maguire has a strong passion for teaching students, specifically students with communication-related disabilities.

Maguire graduated with her bachelor’s from Framingham State University and earned her master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Saint Joseph. She then taught in New Orleans where she received her certification to teach students with disabilities. 

“I went down to New Orleans to do a certification program and that’s where I found that I love working in schools with children with disabilities,” Maguire said.

After teaching for a couple of years at an elementary school in Louisiana, Maguire moved back to New England and taught at a high school in Connecticut before coming to Algonquin. 

“I have always had a passion for working with kids,” Maguire said. “I have been an avid babysitter since I was nine years old, and wanted to work with kids at a very young age. Then I worked with a girl that had cerebral palsy for a very long time and that’s what got me into the special education world.”

These experiences heavily influenced her decision to teach special education.

“I love working in schools with students who have disabilities,” Maguire said.

Maguire works to help her students on a personal level.

“I want to make assignments as individual as possible, because everyone learns differently,” Maguire said. 

Outside of school, Maguire is outgoing, and has a passion for nature and the outdoors..

As a teacher, Maguire’s job is to help her students learn and retain new subjects. Though this may seem challenging, she sees the bigger picture.

“[My students] love learning new things, which makes me enjoy teaching them,” Maguire said. “I love the ‘ah-ha’ moments that my students get, and when they have more of those, I am inspired to teach.”