Ana Levar, Itinerant Support Teacher – Vision (ISTV), Ruse Public School

Ana Levar has been nominated for the 2012 Women of the West Award for her commitment to improving the educational outcomes of vision-impaired, blind and disabled students in south-western Sydney schools.

As an ISTV based at Ruse Public School, it is Ana's role to ensure that the 10 students in her caseload have a classroom learning environment that is suitable to their individual needs. For vision-impaired students, this may involve adjustments to seating arrangements and lighting within the classroom; making recommendations on how to reduce visual clutter; or considering the children's safety during outdoor activities.

A significant challenge in Ana's role is the provision of adequate reading resources. The students with vision impairments require books with larger print or Braille and the students with disabilities, who may not be able to physically hold a book or turn its pages, require learning materials that they are able to interact with and use.

Ensuring that each student has access to curriculum materials is difficult enough – so Ana requested the assistance of UWS students from the Classrooms without Borders program, to ensure that her students also had access to a wide range of Braille, tactile and digital resources that are purely for fun.

In an article in the Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, published on 30 November 2011, Ana commented: "Creating Braille and tactile books is a difficult and time-consuming task... It was so wonderful to be able to take the students into their libraries and, along with the other students, offer them a range of new books."

Ana was nominated for the Women of the West Award by Associate Professor Diana Whitton from the UWS School of Education, who coordinates Classrooms without Borders. In the nomination, Dr Whitton described Ana as "a teacher who is a consummate professional" who has "ensured that the lives of the students has been enriched."

Peter Akins, Assistant Principal – Vision at Ruse Public School, says all of the students on Ana's caseload are treated with respect and dignity and are encouraged to reach their full potential.

"Ana constantly seeks to expand her knowledge of vision issues and strives to seek alternative or better ways to help her students experience success," says Peter.

"Ana displays a passion for all she does and her enthusiasm is infectious and rubs off on the rest of the vision team."

Clare Willmott, a UWS Classrooms without Borders student, described Ana's personal passion and commitment as a Vision Support Teacher as "awe inspiring."

"It has to be mentioned that the initiative with UWS falls well beyond the expectation of her position, yet it was carried out with such infectious joy and enthusiasm," says Clare.

Recognising the value of the Ruse-UWS collaboration, Ana submitted the application which won the school a $25,000 First Seed Funding Grant from the NAB Schools First Awards. The funding will be used to continue resourcing the collaboration with UWS, to allow the team to continue to make educational resources for local students with disabilities.

Contact: Danielle Roddick, Senior Media Officer