Beth KopKash has been teaching for over 25 years, and the camaraderie she found at the Eden School is second to none.
“Staff will lend a hand in a minute, and everyone has each other’s backs,” said Beth. “It’s comforting because you don’t get that in many jobs anymore. Everyone is having a laugh; it’s a good feeling.”
Before joining Eden, she taught PE in the public school system. She became jaded with her work, feeling like she wasn’t making a difference. Her neighbor suggested that she join Eden. As soon as she entered the building, she knew she had found her place.
“I came in for an interview, and I just grabbed it,” she said. “The kids, the people working here, I love it.”
Beth worked in several classrooms before becoming a Job Coach. Beth supports students with their work and volunteer placements in the community. Going from the classroom to the community, Beth has seen how hard students work on their vocational skills to be ready for their jobs. She sees firsthand how important these jobs are to Eden’s students.
At job sites, Beth continues to teach students how to be more efficient at work, always finding new ways to tweak things to help them improve. “That’s the teacher side of me. Deep down, it will come out in everything I do,” she said.
The only thing better than seeing students succeed is seeing them succeed together. “The most rewarding thing is the growth of the students, especially when I see them interacting with one another,” said Beth.
Beth fondly recalls seeing students on the job working together to stuff envelopes. “Just watching them connect with one another, that’s what I love,” she said.
And when those moments happen, Beth celebrates with everyone. “I’ll brag about it to the teachers, I’ll brag about it at home, I’ll tell everybody,” said Beth. “And when parents tell me what their child is learning here, they’re doing at home — that’s the absolute best. That shows some independence.”