Our T.A.C.L.E. Staff
T.A.C.L.E. 1 - Grades K, 1, 2
Teacher: Mrs. Michele Boruta, M.S.- Ed
Ms. Boruta was the teacher of the TACLE 1 program from 2005-2011 before relocating to Boulder, Colorado for a 4 year period of time. In Colorado, Ms. Boruta worked as a Research Instructor with Assistive Technology Partners at the University of Colorado Denver. Her areas of interest include curriculum design, language and literacy intervention, and personal narratives for students with AAC needs.
Ms. Boruta returned to Oakland U.S.D. and the TACLE program at Redwood Heights in 2016, where she again teaches our primary students along with Dr. Talya Kemper. Ms. Boruta is a University Lecturer and field supervisor in the departments of Speech Language Hearing Sciences and Special Education.
T.A.C.L.E. 2 - Grades 3, 4, 5
Teacher: Mrs. Stephanie Taymuree, M.S.-Speech Pathology (Retired as of 5/2019)
I have worked with special needs students since 1977. Forty years of my professional career have been in providing specialized services to students in a variety of Oakland Unified School District's special education programs and services.
I began my working career as an itinerant speech pathologist in Los Angeles County (1977). A year later, I relocated with my husband to Oakland, and began my career in O.U.S.D. For the first 10 years, I worked as the speech pathologist at the Ralph Bunche Special Day Center. With the passage of A.B. 2666 in 1988, which mandated an expansion of preschool special education programs and services beyond those provided to preschoolers requiring intensive special education, the Direct of Programs for Exceptional Children requested that I pioneer Oakland's response to the A.B. 2666 preschool program. Working in collaboration with the Diagnostic Center, the program was highly successful during its 4-year phase-in process of identifying and serving preschoolers with non-intensive speech and language needs. As a result of the tremendous success of the program, O.U.S.D. was awarded substantial funding for equipment and materials.
In 1991, O.U.S.D. Programs for Exceptional Children in collaboration with the Bridge School (Hillsborough, CA), an innovative organization educating children with severe speech and physical impairments, requested that I spearhead the development and implementation of a program for Oakland students with complex communication needs and severe physical impairments. Thus was the beginning of Oakland's T.A.C.L.E. program (Technology & Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement). The elementary program was first established at Redwood Heights School, followed by the establishment of the middle school program and then the high school program. As a result of this model program, O.U.S.D. has not only been able to offer an appropriate education and services to a specific group of low-incidence students and families; but has also been a model for surrounding school districts. "Children often come into the program passive or frustrated and locked into bodies that don't work well. It is my goal that they leave the program with curiosity, initiative, determination, aspirations, and the tools and strategies necessary to participate in the fullness of life."
April 2003, I was awarded the Ann Martin Center Lifetime Achievement Award "which recognizes outstanding educators from the East Bay community who have demonstrated an unusual and steadfast commitment to helping youth discover and build on their unique learning abilities." I then received a Certificate of Recognition from the OUSD Board of Education in May 2003. Later in December 2010, I was awarded the Teacher Quality Award for excellence in teaching at the elementary level.
It was quite a privilege and an honor, when in November 2004, the TACLE program was featured on the George Lucas Educational Foundation Edutopic website, a non-profit web-based multimedia resource center "which highlights the most innovative models of K-12 teaching and learning". I was then chosen as a recipient of the Redwood Heights PTA Founders' Day Service Award for years of dedicated service to the TACLE program and the Redwood Heights community.
Maintaining a relationship with SFSU Communication Disorders Dept., Holy Names University and the Bridge School's Outreach Program, I have been able to participate in important research studies and share indications and best practices in education with teachers, specialists and parents both nationally and internationally.
In 2008 and 2010, I was invited to present at the "Building Bridges in Communication" conferences in South Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban). In 2014, I visited special schools and presented in conferences in India (Chennai and Kolkata). In 2015, I was invited to visit special schools and present at university conferences in South Korea (Seoul, Changwon, Busan). And then in March 2019, I was again invited to visit special schools and present at conferences in Poland and Romania. It has been such a privilege to have the opportunity to share research, best practices and strategies in educating students who require multimodal strategies and equipment to access communication and the academic curriculum.
In 2017, it was the greatest of honors to have been selected as Oakland's Teacher of the Year and the Alameda County Teacher-of-the Year!
However, needless to say, my greatest accomplishment becomes evident when a child, who arrives in my class with no means of intelligible communication, becomes able to share his/her feelings, thoughts, experiences, knowledge and personality using all the multimodal tools, strategies and equipment that have been carefully developed and mastered.
As of 1/2020, I will be working at California State University East Bay as a University Supervisor with student teachers and interns throughout the East Bay school districts. I will also continue to collaborate and consult with the TACLE 1 and 2 programs at Redwood Heights School.
Teacher: Mrs. Stephanie Taymuree, M.S.-Speech Pathology (Retired as of 5/2019)
I have worked with special needs students since 1977. Forty years of my professional career have been in providing specialized services to students in a variety of Oakland Unified School District's special education programs and services.
I began my working career as an itinerant speech pathologist in Los Angeles County (1977). A year later, I relocated with my husband to Oakland, and began my career in O.U.S.D. For the first 10 years, I worked as the speech pathologist at the Ralph Bunche Special Day Center. With the passage of A.B. 2666 in 1988, which mandated an expansion of preschool special education programs and services beyond those provided to preschoolers requiring intensive special education, the Direct of Programs for Exceptional Children requested that I pioneer Oakland's response to the A.B. 2666 preschool program. Working in collaboration with the Diagnostic Center, the program was highly successful during its 4-year phase-in process of identifying and serving preschoolers with non-intensive speech and language needs. As a result of the tremendous success of the program, O.U.S.D. was awarded substantial funding for equipment and materials.
In 1991, O.U.S.D. Programs for Exceptional Children in collaboration with the Bridge School (Hillsborough, CA), an innovative organization educating children with severe speech and physical impairments, requested that I spearhead the development and implementation of a program for Oakland students with complex communication needs and severe physical impairments. Thus was the beginning of Oakland's T.A.C.L.E. program (Technology & Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement). The elementary program was first established at Redwood Heights School, followed by the establishment of the middle school program and then the high school program. As a result of this model program, O.U.S.D. has not only been able to offer an appropriate education and services to a specific group of low-incidence students and families; but has also been a model for surrounding school districts. "Children often come into the program passive or frustrated and locked into bodies that don't work well. It is my goal that they leave the program with curiosity, initiative, determination, aspirations, and the tools and strategies necessary to participate in the fullness of life."
April 2003, I was awarded the Ann Martin Center Lifetime Achievement Award "which recognizes outstanding educators from the East Bay community who have demonstrated an unusual and steadfast commitment to helping youth discover and build on their unique learning abilities." I then received a Certificate of Recognition from the OUSD Board of Education in May 2003. Later in December 2010, I was awarded the Teacher Quality Award for excellence in teaching at the elementary level.
It was quite a privilege and an honor, when in November 2004, the TACLE program was featured on the George Lucas Educational Foundation Edutopic website, a non-profit web-based multimedia resource center "which highlights the most innovative models of K-12 teaching and learning". I was then chosen as a recipient of the Redwood Heights PTA Founders' Day Service Award for years of dedicated service to the TACLE program and the Redwood Heights community.
Maintaining a relationship with SFSU Communication Disorders Dept., Holy Names University and the Bridge School's Outreach Program, I have been able to participate in important research studies and share indications and best practices in education with teachers, specialists and parents both nationally and internationally.
In 2008 and 2010, I was invited to present at the "Building Bridges in Communication" conferences in South Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban). In 2014, I visited special schools and presented in conferences in India (Chennai and Kolkata). In 2015, I was invited to visit special schools and present at university conferences in South Korea (Seoul, Changwon, Busan). And then in March 2019, I was again invited to visit special schools and present at conferences in Poland and Romania. It has been such a privilege to have the opportunity to share research, best practices and strategies in educating students who require multimodal strategies and equipment to access communication and the academic curriculum.
In 2017, it was the greatest of honors to have been selected as Oakland's Teacher of the Year and the Alameda County Teacher-of-the Year!
However, needless to say, my greatest accomplishment becomes evident when a child, who arrives in my class with no means of intelligible communication, becomes able to share his/her feelings, thoughts, experiences, knowledge and personality using all the multimodal tools, strategies and equipment that have been carefully developed and mastered.
As of 1/2020, I will be working at California State University East Bay as a University Supervisor with student teachers and interns throughout the East Bay school districts. I will also continue to collaborate and consult with the TACLE 1 and 2 programs at Redwood Heights School.
Speech Pathologist
Melissa Marriott, M.S.-Speech Pathology
The speech pathologist works collaboratively with the special education teachers providing co-teaching, push-in and pull-out services.
Melissa Marriott, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the speech-language pathologist for the TACLE program, as well as a clinical supervisor and lecturer at San Francisco State University. Her areas of specialization include Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), language and literacy intervention, and transdisciplinary and collaborative practice for students across a variety of educational settings. Her prior research includes needs-based assessments for refugee families with children in special education. Melissa received her masters degree in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University.
Melissa Marriott, M.S.-Speech Pathology
The speech pathologist works collaboratively with the special education teachers providing co-teaching, push-in and pull-out services.
Melissa Marriott, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the speech-language pathologist for the TACLE program, as well as a clinical supervisor and lecturer at San Francisco State University. Her areas of specialization include Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), language and literacy intervention, and transdisciplinary and collaborative practice for students across a variety of educational settings. Her prior research includes needs-based assessments for refugee families with children in special education. Melissa received her masters degree in Communication Disorders from Arizona State University.
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Intervention Support Specialist
Jessica Lancaster |
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Intervention Support Specialist
Brittany Stoddard |