Waseca special education teacher Shealyn Salgado receives Golden Apple Award

WASECA, Minn. (KEYC) - Staff and friends cheered for Golden Apple recipient Shealyn Salgado, a level three special education teacher who puts her heart and time into teaching students dealing with trauma, behavioral, and educational challenges.

“They say things like, ‘well, I can’t do that. I can’t write, I’m not a reader, I’m not this or that.’ And then they do it, and they’re successful. To see them take pride in something and pride for what they do is my favorite part,” level three E.B.D special education teacher Shealyn Salgado said.

Salgado modifies material for students who would otherwise struggle with subjects like language arts and sciences, in a general classroom setting.

She even spends time at home to plan her lessons- which is why her husband, Sergio Salgado, calls her the “champion of the underdog.”

Colleagues say Salgado guides her students with patience, fairness, and an unwavering belief in their success.

“I’ve known Shealyn since she was a seventh-grade student, and I was her seventh grade English teacher. She is just a good human. She is everything you want in a young growing teacher, and it’s my privilege now to have hired her here,” principal of Waseca Jr. & Sr. High schools Dr. Jason Miller said.

Salgado started her teaching career three years ago, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She says she never imagined herself teaching, especially in special education, but her love for teaching in higher education grew unexpectedly in college.

Now, she wants to spread and share the successes of her students that are overlooked.

“The biggest thing that I notice is that so many of my students hate school, or they just don’t have a good relationship with school. My overall goal is to just help them fall in love with learning- and it doesn’t have to be learning at school but learning as part of being a person and being human,” Salgado said.

Copyright 2022 KEYC. All rights reserved.