Meet the Teacher

My name is Cortney Lyon and I am the teacher of Classroom in the Corner. I began blogging in the Spring of 2010 as a way to document me and my husband's adventures in California. Since I began writing I often found that I wanted to write more about my experiences in the classroom and with students with disabilities, but Living & Loving in California (my other blog) wasn't the right forum for that topic. I decided to create an educational blog as a way to document my experiences in the classroom.

The name Classroom in the Corner comes from my current and previous classroom placements. My second teaching job was actually in the basement of an office building, so I consider my corner classroom a luxury now. The name also represents the students that I have taught since some students with disabilities often find themselves excluded from the mainstream.


I am a 2007 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and have my Bachelor's Degree in Special Education,  Adapted Curriculum. I graduated on a Saturday and started my first teaching job the following  Monday and literally haven't stopped teaching since. My  first teaching job was at Salisbury High School in a self-contained classroom for students with moderate to severe disabilities.  After several months my husband and I decided to move to Pennsylvania in order for him to pursue his education in Special Make-Up Effects. While in PA I worked first at Agape Day Treatment Program teaching English, Math, and Social Studies to students with a wide range of disabilities including Learning Disabilities, Emotionally Disturbed, and Mild MR. Students attending Agape had been displaced from their home district  schools because of behavior and truancy violations. I then took on the position of Special Education  teacher, and later English and History teacher, at Sleepy Hollow Academy, a branch of The Academy System. Sleepy Hollow was a Female Residential Placement for Juvenile Delinquents. (I don't like the word 'delinquent' but it's better than 'offenders'). Then, in January 2010 my husband and I moved to the great state of California. I was fortunate  during the poor economy to find a job within one month of our arrival. I am proud to say that I have been working at The Help Group ever since. The Help Group is a school for students with Autism and other developmental disabilities. I am currently working with students with moderate to severe Autism and it is my favorite teaching job so far in my career.

I believe that teaching and the field of education  is my calling.  I am thankful that  I was raised and exposed to persons with disabilities starting from a young age. I can remember being a part of a club called "Circle of Friends" when I was in the 5th grade at Inter-Lakes Elementary School in Meredith, NH. It was a club created  to tech social skills to kids with disabilities and I specifically remember our classmate, Andrew Wilder, who  had MR but was integrated into our regular classes despite a severe disability. My dad also use to work for the New Hampshire School for the Mentally Retarded (that's what it was called back then) and would often bring my brother and I to work with him during the summer/weekends so we could play in the gym or go swimming. And finally, while in college I had decided to become an English Education Major and tried to get a part-time job in a school while I finished my teaching credential. However, the only position they had available was as an assistant in a self contained classroom for students with moderate to severe disabilities. I obviously took the job  and several months later changed my major from English Education to Special Education.I can honestly say that first job in education changed my life forever.

If you haven't noticed by now, I can get pretty long winded. So,  if you made it this far, thank you and I hope you enjoy my Classroom in the Corner.