Spotlight: The Right Tool at the Right Time

Spotlight: The Right Tool at the Right Time

How Warwick Occupational Therapist Megan Brenneman is helping students show up ready to learn

Some kids walk into class already fighting an uphill battle. A pencil grip that won’t cooperate. A brain that won’t quiet down long enough to focus. For Megan Brenneman (formerly MacNair), occupational therapist at John Beck and Lititz Elementary Schools, those are exactly the students she thinks about most.

A Warwick grad herself (Class of 2017), Megan returned to the district she grew up in and has been finding creative, practical ways to help students succeed. Two Warwick Education Foundation grants have helped make that possible.

The first brought Fine Motor and Hand Strength Classroom Resource Kits into elementary schools across the district. The kits are stocked with purposefully simple items: therapy putty, clothespins, hole punches, tennis balls with cut-out “mouths” that students squeeze small erasers into. Low-tech on purpose. The activities build the hand strength and fine motor precision that handwriting, scissors, and basic classroom tasks demand. Students with and without occupational therapy support can use them. (Watch Megan describe the grant and see the kids in action here.)

More recently, Megan helped bring Yoto Mini Players to Warwick elementary schools. The screen-free audio devices let students listen to calming music or stories through a simple, swappable card. No apps. No browser. Nothing to click on accidentally. For students who struggle to focus during independent work time, it’s one more tool to reach for when the classroom feels too loud or too distracting.

Megan sees the difference these resources make.

“I have watched students become more independent and build their confidence,” she says. “Students who struggle with attention and focus now have an additional tool in their toolbox.”

For Megan, that’s the whole point.

“I love watching my students grow and meet their goals,” she says. “It is the best feeling when I get to celebrate alongside them.”

Educators like Megan see a need and find a solution. Donor support through the Warwick Education Foundation is what makes those solutions possible. If you’d like to help fund the next great idea, donate here.