Sadie Guthrie

I had the great privilege to grow up helping in special education classrooms with my mom who has worked as a classroom aid for as long as I can remember. After receiving an undergraduate degree in International Relations with an emphasis on food security from SF State, I wasn’t sure what my next step was, so I found work as a paraprofessional in SFUSD. It was then I realized that special education and disability advocacy is a true passion of mine and a field I wanted to be involved in for the rest of my career. In 2014 I graduated from the SF StateExtensive Support Needs Master/Credential program. After teaching for four years I transitioned to an assistive technology district position and continue to work as an AT/AAC specialist as well as a lecturer for the SF State ESN program. I continue to teach summer school every year and hope to return to the classroom one day soon.

My most memorable experience from the SF State graduate program was completing year two of the program while simultaneously starting my first year teaching in Oakland Unified on an intern credential. It remains the most difficult, yet most rewarding year of growth I have experienced and I am confident I would not have been able to make it without the dedicated support of the program faculty and my cohort.

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”

– Ignacio Estrada