Congratulations to
National Teaching Award Nominee
Jennifer Rydz
Olive C. Martin Elementary School, Lake Villa, Illinois
Student Nomination Story
I can't say enough about how much Ms. Rydz has changed our lives. To say my son was having a rough time is an understatement. We were waiting on the results of his psych evaluation as he had been experiencing bad episodes of anxiety, ADHD, and low self-esteem. Ms. Rydz has been so supportive from the second the school year started. She has gone out of her way to put in extra accommodations for Tyler before we even began his 504 plan. She went above and beyond to make him feel comfortable, accepted, and understood. My son is a drummer, so when he's feeling anxious, he drums on everything. Instead of telling him he needs to stop drumming because it was becoming disruptive in class, she went out and got a piece of carpet to put on his desk so he could drum on that without making noise to distract the other students. This is just one example of how she's gone above and beyond with him. He tells me all the time that he feels safe knowing that she has his back and that is everything to me.
Tyler Furlan
To see more exceptional teacher nominees, visit The Honor Roll.