Thomas Forman
It is my pleasure to nominate my colleague and friend, Mr. Tom Forman, as the ISPA Practitioner of the Year. Tom has many unique qualities that make him stand out not only as an educator but as a person. He is a dedicated father of two small children, a supportive husband, and a full-time psychologist at William L. Thompson Elementary School in Lake Villa, Illinois. Despite handling a full caseload in our K-6 building and heading our school’s Special Services Team, Tom is currently enrolled in an Educational Leadership Doctoral Program at Loyola University. Tom has the ability to balance responsibilities with ease and does so in a quirky, witty manner and with an unbelievable sense of humor.
Tom is professional, reliable, and ethical at all times. He loves to research and his interests span the spectrum of regular education and special education. He had been proactive in implementing best teaching practices in our district. Tom values early intervention and organizes pre-school and kindergarten screening for District 41. He is the reason we now use tools such as DIBELS and Curriculum Based Measurements to identify children at risk, get students extra help, and then follow through by monitoring progress using AIMS Web programs. Tom co-wrote an IASPIRE grant which Thompson School is currently implementing. He has worked hard to help our school become a true Professional Learning Community by training teachers and providing in-services to help teachers learn about alternative assessment techniques and how to collect and analyze data to measure growth and set goals for each individual. Similarly, Tom is a key person in helping our district transition from a traditional model of identifying students to the Response to Intervention (RTI) method. As all psychologists do, Tom spends numerous hours testing children. He works closely with parents and classroom teachers throughout the entire testing process. He conducts IEP meetings in such a way that all team members feel comfortable and able to freely discuss issues and ask questions.
Tom works closely with members of our central office, collaborates with Special Education administration and our district’s legal team to design district paperwork so that it is up to date. He has unofficially mentored all new psychologists that enter our district, attends grade level meetings, mentors students, runs our Grade 6 Advisory meetings, and is even a member of our Gift and Flowers Committee.
Children love Tom because he is a big kid himself. He is often referred to as “that tall funny man with the cool ties.” Students enjoy his sense of humor and connect with Tom: he has action figures in his office, a used pencil collection, and is familiar with most books, movies, and/or TV shows that relate to kids. Staff members enjoy the comics he includes on meeting agendas and look forward to his clever e-mails where there are often references from 80s television shows, bands, or music. He thrives on using his thesaurus to use fancy words in memos and conversation - I now keep a dictionary close at hand.
Tom is intelligent and an enthusiastic person to work with each day. He is a respected well-rounded individual with unique qualities that epitomize the role of an elementary school psychologist. He is worthy of the title “Practitioner of the Year.”
Kathleen A. Blasius - Thompson Lead Teacher
Tom is professional, reliable, and ethical at all times. He loves to research and his interests span the spectrum of regular education and special education. He had been proactive in implementing best teaching practices in our district. Tom values early intervention and organizes pre-school and kindergarten screening for District 41. He is the reason we now use tools such as DIBELS and Curriculum Based Measurements to identify children at risk, get students extra help, and then follow through by monitoring progress using AIMS Web programs. Tom co-wrote an IASPIRE grant which Thompson School is currently implementing. He has worked hard to help our school become a true Professional Learning Community by training teachers and providing in-services to help teachers learn about alternative assessment techniques and how to collect and analyze data to measure growth and set goals for each individual. Similarly, Tom is a key person in helping our district transition from a traditional model of identifying students to the Response to Intervention (RTI) method. As all psychologists do, Tom spends numerous hours testing children. He works closely with parents and classroom teachers throughout the entire testing process. He conducts IEP meetings in such a way that all team members feel comfortable and able to freely discuss issues and ask questions.
Tom works closely with members of our central office, collaborates with Special Education administration and our district’s legal team to design district paperwork so that it is up to date. He has unofficially mentored all new psychologists that enter our district, attends grade level meetings, mentors students, runs our Grade 6 Advisory meetings, and is even a member of our Gift and Flowers Committee.
Children love Tom because he is a big kid himself. He is often referred to as “that tall funny man with the cool ties.” Students enjoy his sense of humor and connect with Tom: he has action figures in his office, a used pencil collection, and is familiar with most books, movies, and/or TV shows that relate to kids. Staff members enjoy the comics he includes on meeting agendas and look forward to his clever e-mails where there are often references from 80s television shows, bands, or music. He thrives on using his thesaurus to use fancy words in memos and conversation - I now keep a dictionary close at hand.
Tom is intelligent and an enthusiastic person to work with each day. He is a respected well-rounded individual with unique qualities that epitomize the role of an elementary school psychologist. He is worthy of the title “Practitioner of the Year.”
Kathleen A. Blasius - Thompson Lead Teacher
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