MMSD Today

News and information for staff members and the Madison community

Vol. II No. 3 - December 22, 2006

'My student teaching experience has been awesome'

Judy Turner is not a typical student teacher. Yes, she's wrapping up her one semester teaching in the MMSD, and she's on track to get a college degree in May.

It is a little different that Turner is training to be a vision teacher certified to work with students with visual disabilities, and that along with her supervising teacher, she teaches at many MMSD schools.

However, there are many things that truly set Turner apart:

She's the first vision teacher in the MMSD — either as a student or a staff member — who is visually impaired.
She's a mother of four kids, ages 14 to 22, and she's a full-time student.
Of special interest to the students at the schools where she teaches, Turner navigates the hallways with her Golden Retriever guide, Lambert.

Student teacher Judy Turner instructs Toki MS student Trevor Hei using Braille text. Both Turner — training to become a teacher for the visually impaired — and Trevor are visually impaired.

When her oldest child was preparing for college, Turner decided the time was right to go back to college. After one year at UW-Madison, she chose to enter Northern Illinois University's program to become a teacher for the visually impaired. "I want to be an encouragement for students who are visually impaired," said Turner.

This semester Turner — who lives in Portage but is a graduate of Madison Memorial — has been supervised by vision teacher Sandy Adams, and while the pair has students at many schools, they are based at Toki MS.

There, students are familiar seeing Turner and Lambert walking the halls during change times. Students have learned that when Lambert is "on duty" helping Judy in the halls, they should not distract his work by stopping to pet him.

Lambert and Turner are often walking with students in Toki MS and other MMSD school hallways. Lambert was raised and trained by a teacher, so he's familiar with schools.

"My student teaching experience has been awesome," said Turner. "Working with students has convinced me this is my heart's passion."

During her college classes and student teacher meetings, Turner takes notes on a computer that is a Braille embosser.

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Last Updated: Tue Jan 16 10:27:12 2007
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