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1070 S. Wickham Rd., West Melbourne, FL 32904
PAMELA BROWN WILLIAMS
Lives in: Fort Pierce
Age: “My students always ask me
how old I am and I tell them I am 27.”
School: St. Lucie County School
District
Family: Husband, George; two
daughters, Paige Ledgerwood and
Payton McBryde; three grandchildren,
Teacher
Palmer and Parker McBryde and Logan Ledgerwood
Education: Associate degree, Indian River Junior College;
bachelor’s degree in secondary education, University of
Georgia
Background: “I was born and raised in Fort Pierce, the oldest
of three daughters of Dr. Winfield and Venetia Brown. I
graduated from Dan McCarty High School in 1967, graduated
from Indian River Junior College and then from the
University of Georgia. I began my career of teaching special
education students right after graduation.”
How I got into teaching: “My mother and her sisters were all
teachers. It was the first, and only, thing I ever wanted to do.”
What I like best about teaching: “It is rewarding, satisfying,
challenging and fun!”
Something my students don’t know about me: “I have
always been fascinated by butterflies, and especially love yellow
butterflies. I also love growing pineapples.”
disabilities so that they can be successfully employed in the
community and live as independently as possible,” Williams
says. “While I was at Westwood High School, my students
were able to get hands-on experience by running the school
bookstore. This provided them with customer service experience
and a chance to see what it would be like to work in a
local business.”
In addition to teaching at Westwood, Williams also worked
at Indian River State College’s adult education department
two nights per week, a job she still holds. Working in the
entry-level lab, Williams says she enjoys the challenges of
teaching students who need extra assistance.
“It is so rewarding,” she says, adding “and the students are
so appreciative. I love to see them catch on to something.”
When she heard the school district was starting a new
program for special needs students, Project SEARCH, Williams
applied for the teacher’s position and was hired. Project
SEARCH began in the 1960s at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
and has been used since then to help students with disabilities
gain employment in hospitals throughout the country.
Project SEARCH provides a perfect fit for Williams, who
works with a paraprofessional and two job coaches from
Employ U. The team works with 12 interns who are training
in varied departments at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital.
The first year the program began, the students were selected
for participation, but now, Williams says, there is an application
process and an interview. Applicants for the nearly
year-long program must have excellent attendance records in
school and no behavior referrals, Williams says. “It is something
they have to start thinking about in middle school.”
“This is a transition-to-work program,” she says. “We push
them very hard. The interns need to be able to be redirected,
take constructive criticism, listen and follow directions.
“We teach them that when they don’t understand, for them
to say ‘I don’t understand. Please repeat your question.’
There is so much they are taking in and many of them can >>
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John Carroll catholic High School
est. 1965
Inspire, foster, develop and affirm
772-464-5200
johncarrollhigh.com
fort pierce, florida
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