Nottingham, Maryland
Address: 9540 Holiday Manor Road, Baltimore, MD 21236
Dates: September 6, 1983 – June 1986
School: Gunpowder Elementary School
Program: Special Education (partial integration into general education coursework)
Activities & Development:
- Began musical instruction (trumpet)
- Participated in school theater (Alice in Wonderland, ensemble role)
- Early exposure to sign language in a mixed-ability classroom environment
School Motto: “Eager beavers who are always ready to learn”
Recollections
March 14, 2026
The following recollections reflect personal memories and experiences from this period.
I spent most of my elementary school years at Gunpowder Elementary in special education classes from 3rd to 5th grade. There was an attempt to transition me into regular math classes in another classroom, though social challenges made that difficult at the time. I remember my mother being upset that, after the mid-year transition, I didn’t know any of my classmates’ names in the other room.
I also recall a guidance counselor visiting the math class to talk about middle school. He explained that our bodies would begin to change, mentioning things like muscle growth and body odor. At one point, he demonstrated by flexing his arm to show how large his muscles could become.
My teacher was Mrs. Valko, and our class had around 20 students. Several classmates were deaf, and a teacher’s aide would sign lessons at the front of the room. We were occasionally given ditto sheets to learn basic sign language. I don’t remember much now, but I do remember how to sign “pizza,” which came in handy in the cafeteria on Fridays.
I remember a few classmates: David S., my friend; Candice T. and Michael, both deaf (Michael played the trombone); and Dominic Z., who had curly hair. The classroom was a mix of different abilities, and communication often bridged spoken and signed language.
I visited David at his house several times. He had an Atari 2600, with better games than our Atari 400 at home. My favorite was River Raid. He also had a Star Wars game where the Death Star appeared to reassemble, and a racing game called Pole Position.
Once, he gave me army clothes and a toy rifle so we could play soldiers in his neighborhood. My parents didn’t allow toy guns or anything related to the military, but I went along with it anyway. We hid in storm drains as part of the game.
Mrs. Valko would sometimes speak with my grandmother, who worked as a postal clerk, and my grandmother would occasionally mention seeing her. That connection made school feel a little more tied to home.
In music class, I learned to sing songs such as Song Sung Blue, Greatest Love of All, and We Are the World. We performed these songs in a school program, followed by a production of Alice in Wonderland.
As part of the play, my mom helped me put together a costume for the Five of Diamonds. The card itself was made from thick poster board that I decorated. I wore a red jogging outfit with a matching hoodie and sweatpants. I got to wave a red paintbrush while singing Painting the Roses Red.
One time, Mrs. Valko traveled to Florida and brought back large pine cones. We used spray “snow” to flock them and decorated them like Christmas trees. I don’t recall whether I fully participated, as I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness at the time. She also brought back wooden souvenir pens—bulb-shaped near the top, one of which I remember having purple paint and a red string. Pens felt significant then; I wasn’t typically allowed to use them, much like certain types of ruled paper. The pen’s unique appearance became a souvenir trinket to remember her over the years.
Looking back, I can’t clearly identify the specific reason I was placed in special education. I’ve heard references to reading comprehension, being “slow,” or difficulty following instructions. Even discussing it later with my father, there wasn’t a clear answer—only a shared uncertainty about what the exact classification had been.
