Ms. Paulette Slowik-Speaker is retiring this year after 18 years at Haven.
Slowik-Speaker started with a career in business. When a relative who had a child with a disability was trying to learn more about what school would look like for their child, she began to do her own research and quickly became fascinated by it. Eventually, she realized she’d like to begin a career as a special education teacher, and she went back to school.
“The more I read, the more I said, ‘I think this is something I would really like to do.’ I have about a 20-year career cycle, but it was okay. I decided I wanted to try something different,” Slowik-Speaker said.
She grew up in the district and went to Haven when it was called Nether Providence High School. Her husband and son also went to Haven, so she had been in the school district, interacting with the school for years before she came to work at it. Since then, she’s been extremely dedicated to both the students and the district.
“I really admire how dedicated Ms. Speaker is to our students. She just never gives up and sees all of her commitments through till the very end by always checking in with her students, and always being willing to help them,” English teacher Ms. Katelyn Scaffidi said.
Slowik-Speaker emphasized that students, even as they grow up and become adults, don’t always need to know what they are going to do next.
“I always know this, but I’m always trying to communicate it to students: you don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t know that ‘this is what I’m going to be for the rest of my life.’ That certainly wasn’t how I decided. I had multiple careers before I landed on teaching, but they were all really great,” Slowik-Speaker said.
Now at the end of her teaching career, Slowik-Speaker has learned a lot through both life experiences and her various job experiences.
“I think the biggest lesson I try to impart on students is that if they love the process of learning, they’ll figure it out. Something else will come around. Nobody has figured it out, but if you like the process of learning, you’re going to be fine,” she said.
She also noted that though social media may not make it feel this way, others are probably just as confused about their future as you are. High school students sometimes think they have it all figured out, but they don’t.
“I started out as an emotional support teacher. So when you have a parent say to you, ‘you made a difference,’ or ‘they’re successful,’ or that they’ve really gotten over some things, that’s really important,” Slowik-Speaker said.
According to past students and coworkers, Slowik-Speaker is very committed to her students.
“I really enjoyed having Ms. Speaker because she would always help me with my work and any other student that needed support or help with other things, and she was always fun to talk to and a good listener,” sophomore Layla Taimanglo said.
Slowik-Speaker mentioned that the litigious nature of special education is a challenge. It makes it harder to spend time with students because of the amount of paperwork involved with the job.
“You have to compartmentalize a little bit,” Speaker said. “You know you do your best for your kids. You prioritize what needs to be done, but you absolutely cannot do it all, or something’s going to suffer. Your health is going to suffer, your family’s going to suffer, or your kids are going to suffer. You have to kind of put some boundaries around the space, because somebody will always want you to do more, and you just have to know that ‘no’ is an answer.”
Slowik-Speaker is looking forward to traveling during her free time, but she’s also excited to have some time to figure out what else she’d like to do.
“This is a great school, and there are great people here. The teachers here really, really care, and I think when you’re in the midst of all of it, especially as the student, or sometimes even a teacher, you don’t realize what a great place it is,” Slowik-Speaker said. “I think that’s important to know.”
