March 1 is Employee Appreciation Day! We are celebrating our team members all month long by sharing their stories. Read more about Lori Lewis, a Special Education Director at River Rock Academy, and how she pioneered a reading program at our Spring Grove, PA campus which is now in effect at all of our locations! 

What is your favorite thing about working here? 

I love the people here. The staff that I work with as well as the students.  

What keeps you coming to work each day? 

I love where I work and who I work with. I previously worked a job where I did not necessarily want to go to work every day. This is my fifth year working at River Rock and every morning I wake up excited to come in and see everybody. It is a wonderful group of people.   

How do you make an impact on students’ lives? 

There are a lot of different ways. As the Education Director, I get to be in and out of the classrooms and meet with different students. My office door connects to the office of our campus director and one of our counselors, so I provide a lot of one-on-one support for academics when students are struggling in class. I attend a lot of meetings, meet with districts, and get to share the great things our students are doing.  

Last year, we rolled out our BetterTogether guiding principles. Which one of our values resonates with you most personally and why? (Integrity, Accountable, Collaborative, Inclusive, Supportive) 

They all resonate with me, but Inclusivity is what I strive for the most. I want to ensure that all our staff and students feel supported and included.  

What does a “day in the life” look like for your role? 

No two days are ever the same, which is one of the lovely parts of this job. I start my mornings with a brief meeting with my campus director, then we move to a team meeting with our staff before the students arrive. I then get to greet the students as they arrive for the day. Once they are in class, it is a lot of meetings, paperwork, visiting classrooms, and many other activities throughout the day.   

Can you talk a little bit about your career trajectory and what led you to where you are now? 

Working in special education is not at all where I planned to be in my life. I went to college to teach elementary education. When I graduated, the market was flooded with teachers, and it was difficult to find a job. I found a job in teaching residential placement and, for 19 years, I ran a single classroom for court-committed juvenile boys and I eventually felt that there was no career advancement. I had a couple of friends who got jobs at River Rock Academy, so I applied and became a case manager for special education. I did that for a year, then COVID hit, and they found themselves in need of a third and fourth grade teacher, so I was in that role for a year. Then they promoted me to the special education director position. I never meant to teach alternative education or high school, but that is what I have made my career in because I absolutely love it! 

What has been your proudest moment or accomplishment in your role? 

From the time I got here, I was pushing for a reading program for our middle and high school students. Last year, we piloted a reading program at our Spring Grove campus, and they have now piloted it at our other campuses because it was so successful. I think it’s wonderful that we can now provide those services for older students who may have missed them in elementary school.  

What is something about you that not many people know? 

I am an open book, but some people may not know that I am an adoptive mother.