New assistant professor joins Hood education department

By Braden Weinel//

First-year teacher Amy Kilpatrick finds herself drawing on her elementary school experience to teach college students in the age of the pandemic.

Kilpatrick, who joined the Hood education department in the fall of 2021 as an assistant professor of special education, said there are similarities between teaching college students and elementary pupils. 

“With this being the first semester back since the pandemic shut down, I have tried to give my students extra support, calling on my elementary teaching experience, because I know that we are all struggling right now,” Kilpatrick said. 

Although she said many of the core teaching principles are the same, teaching college students allow for more lively discussions and less behavioral problems. 

Kilpatrick started her teaching career at the elementary school level as a Spanish teacher for third graders. She received her bachelor’s degree in bilingual education from the University of Colorado. 

After college, Kilpatrick said she moved to Texas because she was tired of the cold. At the University of Texas, she earned her master’s in special education. 

Kilpatrick said that she had always wanted to work in special education but never really admitted it to herself. “I was just always drawn to teaching students with disabilities,” Kilpatrick said. 

In high school and college, she spent a lot of time volunteering in special needs classrooms and in extracurriculars like the Special Olympics. 

Following the completion of her master’s degree, she became an autism specialist and after that a special education district director. 

Coming to Maryland and teaching at the college level was a big change for Kilpatrick, but one that she said she was ready for. She said that Hood really fit the criteria she was looking for in a workplace. 

Kilpatrick wanted to work at a small college or university that really focused on teaching and building relationships with students. So far, Kilpatrick said that she has been pleased with the education department and Hood overall. 

Just before coming to Hood, Kilpatrick earned a PhD in special education from the University of Northern Colorado. 

At Hood, Kilpatrick teaches Foundations of Education in a Diverse Society, Fundamentals of Lesson Planning and a graduate class called Organization and Management in Special Education. 

In addition to the classes she teaches, Kilpatrick supervises two student teachers. 

Kilpatrick said that she hopes to get her students involved with volunteering opportunities for students with disabilities because it made a huge impact on her own future. 

“The volunteer work that I did really helped shape my desire to go into special education,” Kilpatrick said.