Thank You, Teachers

Sometimes a victory is measured simply when a student is able to tie his own shoe and run across the gymnasium floor, Ernser said.

“The only thing you can expect as a school social worker is the unexpected,” Resendiz said.

“Yorkville is very near and dear to my heart,” Miragliotta said. “I have a vested interest in Yorkville and am proud to be a teacher in the district.”

Parkview Christian Academy kindergarten teacher Karen Lanehart knows the importance of kindergarten in the academic life of a child.

Amy Powers, a history professor at Waubonsee Community College, has designed an online course that will be used a model class for college instructors around the country.

Josh Cooper, a 2012 Yorkville graduate, is in his fifth school year teaching at Newark Community High School, and fourth as head baseball coach. “I want the ball field to be my classroom, for these boys to learn how to be a better man and how to handle adversity."

Oswego East teacher and coach Patrick Molinari knows well how precious life can be from personal experience. He is a man determined to use his platform to influence the thousands of kids he’s crossed paths with since arriving at Oswego East for the 2007-2008 school year.

In rural schools, a single teacher was responsible for teaching up to 40 students in eight grades, along with cleaning the building.