CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — Those who knew Michael Kennedy as a Liverpool High School student in the early ‘90s might be surprised at where he has ended up.
“I don’t think anyone would believe that the straight B-minus, C-plus student that they knew would actually mature and become a teacher,” said Kennedy, who is now an associate professor of special education at the University of Virginia.
Not only did Kennedy become a teacher — he went on to be a teacher of future teachers. Now, he is being honored for his research in special education. In January, Kennedy learned he was the recipient of the 2021 TED Pearson Award for Excellence in Teacher Education, which is awarded by the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, a national organization dedicated to special education.
Mary Brownell, TEDCEC’s board president for 2020 and professor at the University of Florida, emailed Kennedy on Jan. 19 to inform him of his selection.
“I was very surprised to be nominated for that and to be selected for sure,” Kennedy said. “The past winners of this particular award have been later in their career than me.”
The award is given to scholars who are “currently active in training educators in special education” who demonstrate their commitment to educating future leaders and teachers in special education and conduct “research supporting the preparation of teachers and/or delivery of services to children with disabilities, legislative leadership, and scholarly works.”
Kennedy said his family moved to Liverpool when he was about 2 years old. He and his three siblings attended Soule Road Elementary, Soule Road Middle and Liverpool High School. Their mother, Christine, taught at Willow Field Elementary and their father, John, served on the Liverpool Central School District Board of Education from 2010 to 2016. Kennedy, who ran track and cross country while at LHS, attended Ithaca College with dreams of becoming a high school social studies teacher, but his first few jobs were in elementary schools.
“I really wanted to work with older kids. I found a position first as a long-term sub in Delaware — Middletown High School — and the principal was looking for someone who was interested in special education,” Kennedy recalled. “As an early 20-something I was interested in anything with a steady paycheck, so I said, ‘Sure!’”
Kennedy went on to complete his master’s in educational technology at Michigan State University and his master of education in Exceptional Children and Youth from the University of Delaware. He received his doctorate in special education from the University of Kansas. His goal, he said, is to help students with behavioral challenges and learning disabilities “learn to be the best version of themselves.”
Now, he oversees student teachers and doctoral students at UVA and has authored numerous scholarly articles, presented at conferences and created a series of videos about high-leverage practices, “the most critical practices that every K–12 special education teacher should master and be able to demonstrate.” He also is the editor of the Journal of Special Education Technology and teaches courses at UVA.
“Being a teacher itself is amazing, but by being a teacher of teachers, you can multiply your impact,” Kennedy said. “To be recognized by my peers is very special. I had the right mentors at the right times at the right places to be able to do this work.”
One of those mentors was Don Deshler, professor emeritus and former director of the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas. Kennedy worked as a doctoral fellow, graduate research and teaching assistant for Deshler at KU from 2007 to 2011.
Deshler wrote a letter of recommendation to the TEDCEC Selection Committee to aid Kennedy’s nomination for the award.
“There are many things that set Michael apart as a clear leader in teacher education in our field. I consider the following to be among the most significant: his R&D efforts are very focused and programmatic; his work is published in our fields most highly rated publications; his work is designed to directly impact the quality of instruction on the front lines; he has collaborated with some of our field’s most highly respected leaders in teacher education; and he has produced many tools (e.g., videos, instructional materials, software) that are being used by scores of practitioners to refine their practices for better teaching individuals with special needs,” Deshler wrote.
Kennedy also credited UVA professor John Lloyd, who nominated him for the TED Pearson Award.
“Dr. Lloyd was the lead person who put me up for the award and recruited from what I understand about 10 people to write letters,” Kennedy said. “Dr. Lloyd was there at the beginning. He taught me what it means to be a scholar.”
The field of special education is relatively new — only about 70 years old — and it is difficult to develop new ideas, find teachers willing to test them, and publish one’s findings, Kennedy said. Despite the obstacles, Kennedy said he is encouraged by budding teachers’ willingness to serve their students.
“Each year, a new cohort of special educators is headed out into the field to help their dozens of students with disabilities and their families,” he said. “To know that I’ve been able to deliver a message of good practice, of empathy toward these kids really feels good and the fact that teachers I’ve never met and probably never will meet are familiar with my work. … That’s what gets you out of bed in the morning.”
