Gregg Schneider

I am pleased that you are here to learn more about who I am and my journey that brings me to running for the School District of Beloit's Board of Education. 

 

I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and a brother. I have been married to Susan Adams for 26+ years. Susan's career has been in student services in higher education. 

 

I have two daughters, both grown and on their own for quite a while. Crystal works at Health Partners in Minneapolis and Heather worked for ThedaCare in the Fox River valley and Waupaca. I have four grandchildren, Scott, Jocelyn, Jesse and Leo. Scott lived with us for two years so he could attend Beloit Memorial.

 

I have two brothers, one sister, and one sister who died way too young from cancer. We grew up in Green Bay, two blocks from Lambeau Field. 

 

I received my Bachelor's of Science degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from UW-Eau Claire. My Master's of Science degree in Vocational Education is from UW-Stout. I have taken additional classes from a few other colleges and universities. 

 

I moved to Beloit in the fall of 2007 as a program manager at the Kolak Education Center. I changed positions several times to best meet the needs of the district. I was privileged to serve as the Supervisor of Special Education for the district for a year, then returned to be the Transition Specialist at the high school. During that year, I established a transition program for students with disabilities ages 18 to 21. At the end of that year and the next year, I also taught in the transition program. Then I co-taught in the English Department for a year. After that, I was transferred into my own classroom to teach students with disabilities. After a few years, I moved back to the Transition Specialist position (my real passion). I chaired the steering committee to establish a Project SEARCH® site for Beloit and neighboring school districts. I retired from the School District of Beloit in 2018 after 40 years in education. 

 

Project SEARCH® is a program created by Cincinnati Children's Hospital and has spread throughout the world. There are now 27 sites in Wisconsin. Students with disabilities apply for an internship at Mercyhealth in Janesville (our site). Those selected will spend their last school year at Mercyhealth learning employment skills while working in three different departments in the hospital. 

 

I worked in three different school districts in Wisconsin and one in North Carolina.  I was the teacher in the Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities program in Mauston before moving to Wisconsin Rapids for 23 years. There I assisted students in Career and Tech Ed. classes, coordinated an in-school and community based work experience program, provided transition services, and then returned to the traditional classroom to work with students with significant disabilities.

 

We then moved to North Carolina for five years. I was the Transition Specialist for Durham Public Schools, a district much like Beloit but many times larger. I oversaw a diploma track for students with cognitive disabilities called the Occupational Course of Study. I supervised the teaching staff in six high schools and the six Job Coaches. This diploma track required students to work 900 hours, a minimum of 360 of those hours had to be in paid competitive employment in the community. I provided monthly staff development for all staff in the Occupational Course of Study, chaired three committees for the district and served on several committees and boards in the community, and worked closely with the business community.

 

I was also on the board and the treasurer for the North Carolina’s Chapter of Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition (NC-DCDT). I presented at their annual conference and worked closely with the Department of Public Instruction on transition services.

 

I am currently very involved in the community. I am a docent and on the board for the Friends of Beckman Mill,  the webmaster for the League of Women Voters of Beloit. I am a member of, Kiwanis, Immigration Task Force of Beloit, the NAACP, the Democracy Defenders, the Poor Peoples Campaign (national and state). I continue to serve on the steering committee for Mercyhealth Janesville Project SEARCH® and on the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Rock County's advisory board. In the Episcopal Church, I am a member of a Creation Care team writing a curriculum on caring for the environment.  

 

I am also a Deacon, member of the clergy, in the Episcopal Church. Since moving to Beloit in 2007, I have served at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The role of a Deacon is to bring the needs of the world into the church, and bring the church into the world to meet those needs. I also produce a daily podcast at Deacon Gregg called Walking in the Way of Love.