Julie Urbanek, the Permanent Special Education Substitute, here at Naperville Central High School, is new to the school and brings a lot to the special education program.

Urbanek has a math and science background and is certified to be a Special Education teacher. This is greatly appreciated by many of the teachers.

Fred Gafrick, Learning Behavioral Specialist for Math and Science, greatly appreciates that Urbanek has a math and science background since it keeps his Special Education students learning the material and not falling behind when he is not in the building.

“The learning with my students does not stop,” Gafrick said.

Urbanek’s job is to substitute for any of the teachers that are out of the building or have called in sick. Since she is a substitute teacher, her schedule will change day to day.

“She is very willing to jump in pretty much anywhere, she has a strong science background and it is nice to drop some ideas with her,” Gafrick said.

Urbanek choose this job because she felt inspired by multiple people to become a special education teacher. She also choose this job to make students with disabilities feel that they are special.

“My younger brother and sister both have disabilities, I just grew up helping them out and seeing them struggle in school,” Urbanek said, “I just wanted to become a special ed teacher to help students with disabilities feel successful.”

Special education teachers try to have students understand the material and sometimes students do not understand the material and the teacher has to break away from the day’s plan to ensure that any student does not fall behind the class.

Urbanek is a substitute for many different classes but she has some classes that repeat often in her schedule. These classes include Multi-Needs, Biology, and Algebra.

“I really enjoy being able to work in all different aspects of Special Education, as this position allows me to.  I’m able to help students become more independent on community trips, help students master Algebra skills, analyze data from a graph , and sometimes I’m just a ear to listen when they need it. My work day is always different and it allows me to get to know a wide range of students,” Urbanek said.

Urbanek is very happy to be Central’s Permanent Special Education Substitute, and hopes that one day she can become a full time special education teacher.