“Staying 28 until further notice,” captioned Teacher Renelle as she posted on social media her birthday celebration on June 9, 2023. Holding a rainbow-coloured cake, she paired it with a contagious smile. She has an unparalleled sunny disposition in life. A colorful person who grew up in a digital age. Her dopamine level is always in check. She likes to travel and experience new things.
Renelle Ojano is a dedicated and compassionate special education (Sped) teacher. At present, she is a Special Day Class (SDC) teacher at Benjamin Franklin Intermediate School in Daly City, California, USA, and is teaching 6th to 8th graders. She has an Education Specialist Instruction Credential and successfully passed the California Basic Education Skills Test. In the Philippines, she became a Licensed Professional Teacher in March 2016.
For eight years, Teacher Renelle showed unique qualities that made her a very effective educator. This makes her extraordinary and highly in demand in the special education system. She has a deep understanding of every subject matter, and she knows how to convey a message that resonates with her students. She spent the first four years of her career in the Philippines.
In the USA, Teacher Renelle’s four years of professional teaching experience exhibit her strong commitment to inclusive and supportive learning environments for students with diverse disabilities. Because of this, she gained the trust of her superiors and served as a panellist in assessing and selecting candidates for Sped teaching positions in their school.
In the class, Teacher Renelle is Sped-savvy. She introduces online educational games. She is highly proficient in integrating technology into the classroom to enhance instruction and support the learning of the students. She patiently taught them how to create a username and password. After that, the students can finally access educational websites and their modified curriculum online. She knows how to utilise assistive technologies and educational software to facilitate access to the curriculum and promote fun and independent learning.
Because of her smart way of teaching, she received various recognitions. She was the Teacher of the Year in 2017 at the Philippine Women’s University – Jose Abad Santos Memorial School, Quezon City, Philippines. In 2023, she received two awards from the International Who’s Who Awards, Betma English Vietnam Aloysian Publication, Philippines. She was given the “International Excellence in Special Education Award” and the “Outstanding Special Education Teacher Award.”
“I appreciate SDC Teacher Renelle Ojano for her steadfastness and warmth. She is incredibly student-centered and hardworking, and she is a joy to work with. She balances the needs of her students, families, and colleagues. Ms. Ojano, you are a gem!” Shout out by Sam Pasarow, the principal of Benjamin Franklin Intermediate School, on the school’s newsletter in 2021.
For three years, she has been highlighted annually in the school’s newsletter as an excellent and loving teacher. She regularly conducts community-based instruction activities for her students in the USA. As a cultural exchange teacher, she finds satisfaction in witnessing how they enjoy learning from the multicultural activities she prepares each year. Because of this, Teacher Renelle becomes friends with her students. Even after graduation, they visit her regularly. They share life updates and success stories.
She plans, directs, supervises, and evaluates the learning experiences of each student. She makes sure that everything she does is parallel to the Special Education Handbook. She reports to the parents about the progress of each pupil.
She has in-depth knowledge about special education laws, regulations, and best practices. This enables her to provide appropriate accommodations, modifications, and interventions for students with disabilities. She is highly skilled in conducting assessments, developing Individualised Education Programs (IEPs), and implementing evidence-based instructional strategies tailored to specific and unique individual needs.
Teacher Renelle has also been an active volunteer in the non-government organization Kamp Pagkakaisa Volunteers Inc. (KPVI) since 2017 up to the present. This charity conducts an annual 10-day summer camp around the Calabarzon area in the Philippines for children and foster homes with special needs. They assist in providing educational support and mentoring. They also advocate for their rights. In
KPVI, teacher Renelle collaborated with fellow volunteers and staff to create inclusive learning environments and deliver targeted interventions. Before working in the USA, she was a Sped teacher at the Philippine Women’s University-Jose Abad Santos Memorial School in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. She handled 1st to 12th grades there from August 2016 to June 2019. She got her degree of Bachelor of Elementary Education with a Major in Special Education from the New Era University, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. She graduated in 2015. She was only 19 years old when she started teaching at New Era University in Quezon City, Metro Manila. She taught 7th to 10th grade there from August 2015 to June 2016.
She also built a program for junior and senior high school students. They set up a cafe where the students make, serve, and sell food. Her classes achieve a 100% success rate upon the conclusion of each academic year. All of her students were able to step up yearly into their new respective class levels.
Her favourite quote is, “A teacher affects eternity; He can never tell where his influence stops,” by Henry Adams. This is the reason why she makes sure she’s always patient, creative, adaptable, and knowledgeable for her students. Her empathetic and compassionate approach to teaching makes her an effective positive reinforcement for her students. Her advocacy is to effectively collaborate with her students, parents, caregivers, co-workers, and superiors.
Her inspiration for her noble career is her late father, who had the dream of having a teacher in the family. She sees teaching as a divine calling. Teacher Renelle is a breadwinner and supports her niece and nephew to finish college.
Looking back in 2019, she remembered how hard her first year in the USA was. It was the most challenging yet satisfying decision she ever made. In that same year, she had one student who expressed that he wanted to become her classroom assistant in the future. He used this as inspiration to finish his studies. Teacher Renelle also developed a good relationship with the student’s parents. They send her life updates regularly, and they visit her annually.
Teacher Renelle’s influence on her students is undeniable. Her belief is indeed true. “Do everything with love, and the rest will follow.”
About the Writer
Wilminia Dumaop is a nationally acclaimed writer in the Philippines, a Carlos Palanca Memorial Grand Prize Awardee for literature. She received various writing awards from organizations, such as the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) and The Lasallian Scholarum Awards, among others. She was the Editor-in-Chief of The Philippine Artisan, the Official Student Publication of the Technological University of the Philippines, from 2007 to 2009. Her most recent essay received an award from the CFO Competitive Literary and Visual Arts International Finals.
