Amelia Brangle
Contributing Writer
New SSD coordinator Jennifer Macalady is already jumping into her
position in the Webster Groves School District and making a difference in people’s lives by supporting and including all people.
Macalady first started teaching business in the city at St. Louis Public Schools where she said she noticed she had a particularly good relationship with the students who had an IEP. This is when she decided to start her career in special education.
As the SSD coordinator, Macalady supervises the special education staff for the high school, Avery, Edgar and Clark. Macaldy described her position as being a “principal without a building.” This means she’s in charge of hiring teachers and putting in the best support she can for the existing staff in the district, whether this is very minimal, which is the case for most students, or more intense support.
“It’s important to support everybody and for all kids to be included. I’m helping to support our teachers in the program and everybody that assists kids with IEPs so that they can be the best they can be,” Macalady said.
Macalady continues to make a difference in people’s lives outside of her job as coordinator. Not only does she believe in the importance of including all kinds of different students and giving equal opportunities to them, but she also took part in fundraising for a bike race that supports people with MS.
“Jennifer stepped up to the plate, and not only did she volunteer, she was the captain of a bike team and recruited over 40 additional team members and drove the fundraising efforts over the top,” Macalady’s teammate/coworker for the board of National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Nora Amato said.
Coworkers at the high school also recognize Macalady’s impact on the district.
“I could tell that she had had a wealth of experience before. She definitely knows the special education process and law, and she was not intimidated by the size of the job that she was undertaking,” SSD teacher Stacia Giulvezan said.
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