On this episode of Working Well, NCSSLE Training Specialist Melanie Goodman speaks with Kathy Nimmer, who was a high school English teacher for 29 years at William Henry Harrison High School in Indiana, a public school of approximately 2200 students. Kathy was Indiana’s Teacher of the Year in 2015 and is now mentoring new teachers full-time. Kathy is also blind. She discusses the ups and downs of her own classroom experience, how she characterizes her disability, how a windy day led to her first guide dog, her reverence for teachers, and her unique approach to mentoring.

0:22 - Introduction.

1:30 - Discovering her disability.

3:55 - Living with blindness.

4:59 - Drive to succeed.

7:05 - Feeling called to teach.

8:56 - Teaching high school.

9:54 - Loves writing and teaching creative writing.

10:55 - The disability label.

13:59 - Discussing being blind with students.

16:21 - Early classroom challenges.

18:50 - Embracing being her whole self in school.

21:31 - Developing a teacher mentor program.

24:22 - What gives her hope.

28:42 - Today’s obstacles for teachers.

31:50 - Her inspiration for getting a guide dog.

34:12 - Being a role model for other blind teachers.

37:01 - Future plans.

38:18 - Closing.

Working Well is brought to you by the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) at the American Institutes for Research. This podcast is funded by the US Department of Education. If you'd like to learn more about NCSSLE, visit safesupportivelearning.ed.gov. For all questions or feedback, you can email us at NCSSLE@air.org.

Thanks for listening. Please note, the contents of this podcast do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the US Department of Education, nor does it imply endorsement by the US Department of Education.