Putnam County teacher enjoys the challenge of educating

By JAYCE EUSTICE | jeustice@shawmedia.com

These early experiences with kids led her college path where she continued to progress toward working with children, this time as an educator.

She attended IVCC and ISU before getting her first position as a third grade teacher in Midland, where she ran into a situation most first-year teachers would never have to experience.

“I worked with a lot of great people and learned a lot over there,” Delvallee said. “I was actually there when our school got shut down from lead, asbestos and mold. It was super interesting and a great learning experience.” enjoys the personalities of students she sees on a daily basis.

“First grade has a ton of great things that I like,” Delvallee said. “That’s where they really learn to read and I love teaching reading. It’s really fun to see them understand or find their love for reading.”

She said that in kindergarten, many kids are still learning the fundamentals of reading, while by first grade they are beginning to read and understand stories. While Delvallee loves her time in first grade, she said that for her it’s fun to teach different grade levels.

“I don’t see myself anywhere else,” Delvallee said. “I genuinely love to teach. I love the kids and I love to hear their stories, get to know them and see what works for them because they are like little puzzles. You have to figure out what’s going to help them work best.”

During her first year on the job, Delvallee taught from three classrooms while she was moved around to accommodate the building’s circumstances. She later settled into a first grade position at Midland before accepting a position closer to home at Putnam County Primary School, where she has taught for six years.

As a first grade teacher, Delvallee said she really

“I also love the older kids,” Delvallee said. “My rule of thumb is that I don’t want to teach anybody taller than me so that caps me at about fourth grade. There’s perks of all the grades. I wouldn’t say that I would want to be stuck in one grade forever, I like to move around because I just like to see all of the different

See DELVALLEE, page 9

By TOM COLLINS | tcollins@shawmedia.com

How did you learn Shakespeare? Did your teacher make you read it aloud in iambic pentameter? Or did you have to peek at Cliffs Notes while wrestling with “Hamlet” at home?

Brittany Rynkewicz has taken a different approach: The students at St. Bede Academy in Peru act out scenes and ponder aloud what makes the characters tick. Rynkewicz is an English teacher, as well as chairwoman of the St. Bede English Department, and she believes drama and literature are supposed to be fun and relatable.

Her teaching style isn’t all fun and games, though. While she’s got a knack for getting her students engaged in the subject matter, she brooks little patience for feeble excuses and has been known to push when her students won’t give it their all.

“And that is something I’ve had to learn to navigate,” Rynkewicz said. “I struggle with making my content sig - nificant when kids have bigger things going on in their lives outside of our classroom.”

If it’s a struggle, it’s one she’s concealed well from her peers. Kari Gaviña is a Spanish teacher at St. Bede who, during her first year, was assigned a mentor and was paired with Rynkewicz. They became fast friends and Gaviña was impressed with Rynkewicz’s “inspiring” command of the classroom and ability to get everyone involved.

“She knows that all students are capable of doing the work, but (some) just choose not to,” Gaviña said. “Brittany is a no-nonsense teacher, so from day one students know that their grade is 100% their responsibility.”

Rynkewicz was herself a give-all student, though her mom at one point was unsure whether a career in education was in the cards. Had Donna Schueler been asked what career lay ahead for her only daughter, Donna might have flipped a coin.

Heads, and it’d have been veterinary medicine; Brittany always had loved animals. Tails, teaching. Brittany had “played school” with the neighborhood kids and, except for a little junior high basketball, her preferred hobby was reading.

“One of the first things my mom did when we moved to Seneca was get me a library card,” said Rynkewicz, who was born in New Jersey but graduated from Seneca High School in 2007. “I spent a lot of my summers walking the block and a half from my grandparents’ house to the library and carrying back however many books I was allowed to check out at the time.”

It was one of her teachers at Seneca High that left the most lasting impression. Marilee Applebee taught English and found a most willing student in Rynkewicz, who was so diligent she kept color-coded notes.

“The expectations she set before us were clear and challenging,” Rynkewicz said. “The encouragement she gave us was genuine and constant.”

By graduation date, Rynkewicz had firmly ruled out being a veterinarian –

See RYNKEWICZ, page 10