Paige Inglis brings to St. Peter’s Catholic School a unique perspective as both former student and present day teacher’s aide.
Paige first came to St. Peter’s in the fall of 2000 as a K-4 student. Her family were parishioners at St. Peter’s, and she followed her older brother and sister who had both attended St. Peter’s. She was a student at the school on Lady’s Island until 2007. She was in the regular classroom with an aide and was able to excel in spelling, handwriting, and art, while maintaining her own level of math and reading.
After St. Peter’s, she went on to middle school and high school. It was during high school that a St. Peter’s teacher agreed to allow Paige to come help in her classroom one day a week, as part of a program for special needs students to gain work experience. That experience turned into an opportunity for Paige to be employed at St. Peter’s following high school. She currently works at the school as a Classroom Aide four days per week, following a classroom schedule which has been created for her. She is busy in every classroom at least one time per week.
Paige has had the experience of receiving a Catholic education, so going to Mass, saying the rosary, praying the daily prayers, and living the virtues of the faith are not strange to her.
The children ask her questions, and for Paige this is the highlight of her day. She is used to being the one who has had to ask the questions all her life. Now, she is in the unique and enviable position of being asked questions and typically, she can answer them. This gives the children a person to go to with questions and for Paige, she feels needed and valued.
The gift of special needs children to a society should not be limited to the parents’ experience, but shared with the community. St. Peter’s Catholic School has taken that ideal and given life to it. And all reap the benefits.
