Lynn Peterson Named Matheny Educator of the Year

Lynn Peterson encourages a response
from 14-year-old student, Savannah
Conrad, by using a preferred item of
sensory input, in this case, a toy duck.

Lynn Peterson’s teaching approach emphasizes building rapport with her students, facilitating discovery of their goals and abilities and utilizing the positive principles of applied behavior analysis.  For the academic year just ended, the Budd Lake, NJ, resident was named the Matheny School's Educator of the Year.

Peterson’s students are often non-verbal and have many medical issues over and above their primary disability.  “The way I teach,” she explains, “is to ask for positive social behavior.”  A key element in encouraging that behavior is the use of preferred items of sensory input such as a favorite animal or toy. Peterson also welcomes interaction in the classroom with physical and occupational therapists, a method that is key to Matheny’s educational philosophy.  “I learn so much from the therapists,” she says.  “I get so many ideas from them.”

According to Sheryl Gavaras, Matheny principal, Peterson is, “a warm and wonderful individual who has shown herself to be charismatic in her relationships with students, their trans-disciplinary team and parents.  She is an asset to our school and the students she teaches.”

Peterson graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in music performance from Drew University in Madison and completed the pre-school, elementary and special education programs at College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station.  She also holds a certificate in music education.  She recently toured Spain as a soprano with the Morristown-based Harmonium Choral Society.