Mrs. Rydell won Educator of the Year here at Wayne Valley, and now she is in the running against other teachers in the county for the award’s next tier. She has been teaching here for 6 years, and before that, she taught at Anthony Wayne Middle School. At Valley she teaches the Connections Program: a program aimed at reintegrating socially anxious students into typical classrooms..
The Connections Program is for students who are scolionophobic (have a fear of school settings) and are socially anxious. Because of these struggles, these kids are unable to thrive in big class sizes. Mrs. Rydell helps them slowly adjust and eventually get out of the program to re-enter larger classes. She is very dedicated to her students, helping them identify their strengths and weaknesses and encouraging them in times of hardship. She also makes her students aware of their resources. In an interview, she said, “This is where collaboration with all the talented faculty and staff of Wayne Valley comes in. It truly does take a village sometimes, and I enjoy learning from the other experts in this building.”
She finds great reward in guiding struggling students to personal growth and success. When asked about the greatest challenge she has faced, she said, “The pandemic brought to light a topic that I find very important: maintaining good mental health. It can be incredibly frustrating for me as a teacher when I see someone struggling and they aren’t able to access the help they need. When I talk about mental health, I am not just talking about the students, but the families, faculty, and staff as well. The district has been providing resources since the pandemic and that makes me happy.”
During her interview, she mentions a story from when she first started teaching. When she taught in Union City, there was a student who was always in class before her, sleeping; some days, she got him donuts from Dunkin’. At the end of the year she received a note from the student. He turned out to have been working overnight shifts to support his struggling family, coming to school right when his shift ended. Sometimes, that donut would be the only thing he ate since lunch. The student thanked her for not asking questions, and she was taught a lesson to never assume, because you never know what someone is going through. Instead of assuming the student was lazy, she accepted him with care and compassion. She keeps that student in mind every day as she helps her students at Valley.
We are incredibly grateful to have a teacher like this at our school, and we are very proud of her for being named Teacher of the Year! We hope that our students are just as inspired by her as we are. Keep up the good work, Mrs. Rydell!
