School named for teacher

Facility for autism, learning disabilities honors late educator

STAFFORD — Edward E. Drew Middle School’s new center for students with autism and intellectual disabilities is now officially the Heather Empfield Day School and Transition Center.

The school board passed a resolution at Tuesday night’s board meeting that named the center after Empfield, who was a Stafford County Schools teacher specializing in autism and special education for the past eight years. Empfield died May 31 of health issues.

“No matter how tough the situation, and there were some tough situations, Heather had the ability to make the staff feel that everything would be OK,” said Deputy Superintendent Andre Nougaret. “So many have learned from Heather and observed her passion and teaching and particularly her love for children.”

Originally a school sign language interpreter in Maryland, Empfield began teaching autistic students at Stafford Elementary School in 2001. In 2007 she was appointed coordinator of the school district’s autism programs.

Most recently, Empfield created the day school and transition center, a school for students with autism and other disabilities that require a highly structured environment. The program will offer one-to-one teacher to student ratio and intense behavioral interventions, according to Nougaret.

Empfield’s parents, Pam and Robert, and her brother, Jeff, attended the meeting.

“There is a saying that if you want to touch the future, teach a child,” Nougaret said. “Heather did just that. Her impact on Stafford schools, Stafford students and all of us will long be remembered and greatly appreciated.”

Athletic Fields Still a Concern
Also discussed at Tuesday’s board meeting was the lack of available athletic fields in Stafford County. Pastor Daniel Jones, president of the Stafford Storm Football Association, questioned the manner in which the fields are allocated for the different sports programs in the county.

“All I am asking for is to look at the procedures used to get fields allotted to the Parks and Recreation,” Jones said. “We’re in direct competition with the Parks and Rec for the same football fields. So it’s conceivable that we’re not getting the best fields.”

Jones said he is still waiting to hear where his teams will play their games this season.

“At this point we have no fields to play on,” Jones said. “Parents are calling us every day. ‘Where are we going to be practicing? Where are we going to be playing?’ And we have no clue.”

The issue also was addressed at last week’s Stafford County Board of Supervisors’ meeting.

“Basically, after the schools needs are met, Parks and Rec has the responsibility to manage, assign and otherwise provide access to those fields,” Superintendent David Sawyer said of how the fields are assigned. “We’re doing what we can. We are concerned about timeliness to make certain that if these fields are in fact available, that the notification gets back to the Parks and Rec in a regular and timely manner.”

Shane Walter is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at .