'She Is A Giant In Her Profession': How Liz Deery Makes A Difference

MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD — Great teachers matter. In Montgomery Village, we're fortunate to have teachers like Elizabeth Deery.

Patch has partnered with T-Mobile to recognize teachers and show them how much they’re valued and appreciated.

This submission comes from Addie Momyer who nominated Elizabeth Deery of Montgomery Village.

Teacher’s name

Elizabeth Deery

How do you know the teacher?

She taught my son in first grade.

What does this person teach?

She teaches 2nd grade.

Why do you believe the teacher should be recognized or honored?

Liz Deery is completely dedicated to the students in her class.

She was my son's teacher during Covid and went above and beyond to keep him engaged in any way that she could. This was especially difficult because my son has ADHD and is also on the Autism Spectrum.

He had an extremely difficult time with Zoom because he would become overwhelmed with all the visual and aural stimulation. When the situation became overwhelming for him, she worked with me to develop an asynchronous schedule that would allow him to log in for morning and afternoon check-ins but complete his work independently. This required her to send me the assignments in advance, answer any questions I had about the work so that I could support and assist him, then review all of the work to make sure that he was retaining the information.

She did this on a daily basis with me, taking time out of her schedule while also balancing the responsibilities of the rest of her class.

In addition to this, she came to our home several times during Covid to deliver supplies and special gifts to make sure that my son felt connected to her, and knew that she was on his side.

This was an extremely challenging time for our family, as I was also recovering from a kidney transplant, and we would not have made it without her support and dedication to her craft. Even now, whenever she sees my son at school, he gives her a hug.

This is truly representative of the impact she had on his life, because, like many children with ASD, my son often shies away from affection and physical touch. She has become a dear friend to me and regularly checks in to see how my son is doing, or to share a story about something she observed him doing at school that brought a smile to her face.

I truly believe that she has the kind of heart that a teacher needs to be successful, and I am grateful every day for the impact she had on my son's life.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the teacher?

She is a giant in her profession. She loves her students and the families they come from. I don't believe there is anyone more deserving of receiving this recognition.

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