LONGMEADOW – A dedicated and compassionate counselor, Gloria Williams was recently honored with the 2015 maaps Albert E. Trieschman Memorial Award for Exceptional Direct Service to Children at its annual conference for her skill in counseling students who are deaf. maaps – the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools – represents 85 private special education schools across the state.
Williams, who lives in Westfield, has been a direct service practitioner in special education for 21 years. For 14 years, she has worked as a counselor at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf, a maaps member school, where she provides individual and group therapy lessons to deaf and hard of hearing students from early childhood through middle school. Her colleagues wrote letters of praise to nominate her for the award. The award was presented to Williams on Friday, March 27 at maaps’ 37th Annual Conference in Marlborough.
“Gloria is a gifted counselor who easily develops trust with her students,” says Linda Carfora, assistant director of educational services at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf. “They feel comfortable with her and will seek her out they need help. She does an excellent job developing self-advocacy skills and promoting anti-bullying and has a special calmness about herself in crisis. Furthermore, she offers creative solutions to problems, believes in her students, is devoted to families, and her positive nature make her a unique and valuable member of the school.”
In addition to counseling students, Williams has worked with families through home visits, spending much of it after traditional business hours. She even taught a sign language class in Southbridge and an evening class in Springfield. She is skilled at identifying a myriad of services for families in need of therapy and is devoted to providing them herself or helping the families connect with other agencies that can provide them. She went above and beyond to facilitate a student’s slot on a football team by working with social workers from the student’s hometown.
Moreover, she has organized food and clothing drives for students in need and quickly assembled her staff to provide grief counseling to students when a recent graduate died in a car accident. After a tornado hit Springfield in 2011, she bravely traveled to her students’ neighborhoods to search for them and their families, making sure they were safe and providing clear communication to them so they were aware of what happened. She applied for, and was granted, funding to provide extra transportation for students so they could participate in an afterschool program for the deaf, which resulted in greater participation. For several years, she has led the Parent Advisory Council, bringing in speakers for parents to address various topics such as behavior management, guardianship, independent living, video relay services and video phones.
“We are very proud to honor Gloria for her inspiring and remarkable work,” says James V. Major, maaps executive director. “maaps member schools teachers and staff work tirelessly to provide high-quality educational experiences to their students. Gloria’s devotion to providing therapy, embodies these efforts and serves as a great example to her entire profession.”
The Albert E. Trieschman Memorial Award for Exceptional Direct Service to Children is annually awarded at the maaps conference to honor the legacy of the late Dr. Trieschman who founded Walker and served as the first executive director until his death in 1984. Throughout his career, Dr. Trieschman, a psychologist at Children’s Hospital, helped children facing emotional, behavioral and learning challenges get the treatment and support they needed to lead full lives. In 1969, Dr. Trieschman co-wrote The Other 23 Hours, which emphasizes the power of a therapeutic setting in the lives of children coping with complex behavioral health needs. His revolutionary work introduced a new residential care philosophy that outlined the need for treatment beyond the one-hour therapy session. The Other 23 Hours remains a classic text for child care professionals working in residential treatment settings.
