On April 27, 2025, Sierra Green, senior outreach archivist at Heinz History Center and member of the Consortium’s Steering Committee, presented a talk about sharing special education historic materials with high school students who aspire to careers as teachers. The talk was part of the History Center’s “Treasures in the Archives” event.
Green’s talk focused on a workshop held at the History Center earlier this year with students in the Future Special Educators Club at Beaver County’s Riverview High School. Eight students spent a morning in the Detre Library & Archives for hands-on interaction with materials that document the evolution of special education from the 1950s to the 2000s.
The collections bring to life the educational experiences of students with disabilities in different eras:
- Jolene Elder, Chevron Hendzel, and Leah Tecza, students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
- Daniel Flavin, a student at Polk State Center
- Melinda Feather, an alumnus of the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
The collections focused on these students are an example of the collaboration between the History Center and the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium to preserve and share disability history from the perspective of individuals with disabilities.
