Professional Partner of the Month: October 2008
Elaine Steinbacher
"She has taught all of us that nothing is impossible. Thousands of students have been touched and impacted by her and everyone tries to follow her teachings of 'Never, never, quit.' Other staff always go to her for help solving problems and she is very talented at solving all of our students' financial aid and college application problems."
- Nicole Prum, Supervisor, Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program
"Elaine helps not only the kids (migrant students), but the parents as well. The entire family is new to the United States and our education system, and they have almost no experience with the American system of higher education."
- Dr. Ambrose Finnegan, Chester County Intermediate Unit Director of Student Support Services
"Elaine Steinbacher has been a leader in connecting children whose families are migrant workers with community opportunities and resources. No matter what The Second Mile program, Elaine's leadership, energy, and commitment were and are key to making those opportunities possible for her students."
- Katherine Genovese, Executive Vice President, The Second Mile
Elaine Steinbacher has worked for the Chester County Intermediate Unit's Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program for 19 years. Armed with great enthusiasm, a penchant for finding and utilizing vast resources, and pure drive and commitment, Elaine has been a force in the commonwealth in helping migrant students and their families meet their educational, recreational, and sometimes basic living needs. For her dedication, and for the difference she's making in the lives of so many children and families, The Second Mile recognizes Elaine Steinbacher as its Professional Partner of the Month for October.
Elaine started out as an in-home summer teacher for migrant students, teaching in the mushroom camps and sometimes rough urban neighborhoods. She currently serves as Coordinator of Partnership Collaborations and Coordinator of Project Area ONE which services Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware Counties. Working mostly with high school students, especially seniors, Elaine helps them get into college and find the needed monies to go. Since 1998, she has also served as the advisor for the Pennsylvania Congressional Awards Program, helping low-income, at-risk, English as a Second Language (ESL), minority students go to college students – typically students who are the first in their family to attend college.
Don't let the long titles and program names confuse you – Elaine's work can be distilled down to just a handful of words – she does whatever she can to help migrant students and families. And this is exactly where Elaine finds her motivation:
| | "There is no amount of pay that can bring me better satisfaction than knowing I am helping steer young people in the right direction. Knowing full well that a person such as myself can make all the difference in the world to one student who needs to know someone cares and can make them feel special." |
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It's lucky for these students that Elaine's reach is so broad and her efforts so comprehensive as to impact such a large number of them. Because of Elaine's longevity and effectiveness in touching so many lives, she's recently received national recognition for her work. In April, she was named the National Migrant Education Teacher of the Year by the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education, and in June, was awarded the National Inspiration Award 2008. The latter is given by the United States Congress in conjunction with the Congressional Awards Office. When Elaine arrived in Washington for this ceremony, she said she felt unprepared as she shared the stage with New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, actor Dwayne Johnson (also known as "The Rock"), and First Lady Laura Bush.
So from where does this motivation come? Mrs. Steinbacher credits the minister of her church when she was in high school, with very little direction, for mentoring her and guiding her towards college, eventually helping her land at Millersville University. Reverend Cloud also encouraged Elaine to follow her heart, and not necessarily her parents, to go into the teaching profession.
| | "Almost every day I think about Reverend Cloud and I am motivated to give back and be firmly interested in a young person's future as he once was in me. Knowing that many of the students I service today will also give back and do the same long after I am gone from this earth is incredibly motivating - my Migrant Education Program (MEP) students are the messages that I am sending into a future that I will never see." |
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We often hear about negative cycles repeating themselves, and this would be an example of a positive one – a case of Elaine "paying it forward," just as her mentor "paid it forward" to her.
As Elaine has been in the field for many years, she has faced multiple roadblocks and other issues. Currently, she feels that the greatest challenges she faces are the federal guidelines and regulations: "There are so many reports and demanding data collections that it's hard to find the time to do what we are supposed to do - service kids." Fortunately, as a private non-profit, The Second Mile does not put up quite so many barriers, and Elaine has utilized many of this agency's programs. Katherine Genovese elaborates:
| | "Early on, Elaine recognized that The Second Mile could offer the youngsters with whom she and her staff work with opportunities to strengthen and reinforce the interpersonal and academic goals they work to instill. As a result, migrant education students have participated in the Southeast Region Friend Program, the Challenge Program, the Leadership Institute, and in other enrichment activities in significant numbers. A number of her referrals have also received Second Mile scholarships for post-secondary schooling." |
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Furthermore, Elaine points out that The Second Mile fits in well with their goal to develop partnership collaborations, and besides offering programs for her students, The Second Mile also provides volunteer opportunities for her Pennsylvania Congressional Awards earners. These two agencies have been partnering for over ten years now, and the fit is so perfect, we hope it continues for many years to come.
When not working diligently on her professional duties, Elaine spends time with her husband of 43 years, Donald E. Steinbacher, a former Penn State football player in the same graduating class as Second Mile founder Jerry Sandusky. Elaine and Donald have three adult children and nine grandchildren to keep them busy. They reside in Kennett Square, where Elaine notes they have no pets because, "I don't like to clean up messes….I like to work smarter and not harder!"
When asked to give her favorite quotation, Mrs. Steinbacher couldn't pick just one. First, she cited Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The reward of a job well done is to have done it," clearly part of her philosophy of service. Second, Elaine offered John Quincy Adams' "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." She strives to fill this role, as her mentor Reverend Cloud convinced her years ago, seemingly in an attempt to prove him right. Based on the feedback from her colleagues, students, former students, and from the national recognition she's received, Reverend Cloud would not be disappointed. Because of this leadership and positive impact she's had on so many people, The Second Mile is proud to name Elaine Steinbacher as its Professional Partner of the Month for October.
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