Starfish Award

This award is presented to educators who go above and beyond to meet the needs of all of their students through Universal Design for Learning and the implementation of accessible educational materials and assistive technology. Why do we call it the Starfish Award? The story of the starfish is one that resonates with us at PATINS. We are dedicated to making the curriculum accessible- even if that means one student at a time. 

The latest recipient of the Starfish Award is Marilou VanderGriend, who serves the entire South Bend Community School Corporation as a member of the CAT (Communication and Assistive Technology) Team and Special Education East Support Team.

Previous Recipient Presentations:

• Clive Williams
• Cindy Berger
• Conner Edwards
• Annie Peters
• Abbi Richcreek
• Lisa Kloc
• Elizabeth Shepperd
• Angie Sheets
• Elizabeth Garvey
• Shellie Parr
• Mary Beth Dugger
• Linda Thatcher

Recipient Receives:

• Starfish Certificate and Commemorative Silver Starfish

• A feature in our PATINS Pages eNewsletter

• Free admission to Access to Education, our state-wide fall conference

• Starfish Badge that can be added to email signatures or other professional or personal documents