Two BPS educators honored for service to children with autism

BOSTON – Two Boston Public Schools (BPS) staff members will be honored tonight with the Margaret L. Bauman, MD Award for Excellence in Serving the Autism Community. Harolyn Bowden, Principal and Karen Bazzinotti, Speech Therapist at the Samuel W. Mason Pilot Elementary School in Roxbury join fellow recipient Mayor Thomas M. Menino in receiving the award. Mayor Menino was honored during the14th Annual Current Trends in Autism Conference this morning, while Ms. Bowden and Ms. Bazzinotti will be honored during the conference gala tonight.

“The Boston Public Schools community is immensely proud of these two educators in receiving this honor,” said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “The work being done every day in our schools for students with special needs is among our greatest priorities. We are committed to educating all of Boston’s children. We would be remiss in not congratulating Mayor Menino for his work in this field and thanking him for all he has done for students with autism.”

Over the last 10 years, BPS estimates a 400% increase in the number of children diagnosed as being on the spectrum of autism.

Ms. Bowden and Ms. Bazzinotti were nominated for the award by the mother of one of their students. “When my son began K0 at the Mason School, I told his special education coordinator that my biggest goal for him was to understand what it meant to be part of a group,” said the student’s mother. “The second week of school, when I came to pick up my son from his class, I noticed that all teachers and aides greeted him by name in the hallway and waited for him to respond. It was as if the whole school accepted responsibility to assist my son in achieving his goals.”

“Inclusion is successful at the Mason because of the collaborative and collective efforts of staff who truly believe the differences children display enrich the learning and social development of all children,” said Principal Bowden. “We're all committed to providing students with rich educational experiences that help every learner develop to his or her potential. We are truly humbled by this honor.”

The Margaret L. Bauman, MD Award for Excellence in Serving the Autism Community was established by the Friends of LADDER. Dr. Bauman is a world-renowned leader in the study and treatment of autism and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard. She has dedicated her career to autism research and clinical care and has established and developed The Autism Research Foundation, The Autism Research Consortium, and Learning and Development Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services (LADDERS). As a part of the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, LADDERS serves more than 4,000 patients each year.

The Mason Pilot Elementary School serves approximately 200 students in an inclusion environment, where students with and without disabilities learn together in pre-kindergarten through grade 5. Last year, EdVestors awarded the Mason the $100,000 Thomas W. Payzant "School on the Move" Prize for outstanding student achievement.