Ask Ania Tyrka why she wants to become a teacher, and she immediately smiles and points right at 10-year-old Anthony.
“This little guy – my son,” said Tyrka, a “mom, homemaker and wife” who also credits 12-year-old daughter, Zosia, for the decision to enroll at Elgin Community College in pursuit of an associate degree and then to transfer into NIU’s Elementary Education program.
But there’s more to the story.
Her first language is Polish and, once upon a time, she was like the children she soon will teach: English learners (EL).
Clinical experiences at District 300’s Dundee Highlands and Perry elementary schools drove that notion home over the last two years, providing her with up-close looks at “different worlds.” One enrolls underserved populations – “students who really need someone to be there for them as an advocate,” she said – while the other hums with a symphony of tongues.
“The classroom I was in had only 19 students, but out of those 19, 10 were English learners, and out of those 10 students, we had seven different languages represented, which was amazing to work with because it was students from, ‘I literally just came to the country in January,’ to, ‘I’m going to exit the EL program,’ ” Tyrka said.
“Being able to take what I’m learning at NIU and then put it into action with those students was not only showing me how much I’ve learned, but how much a teacher can make a difference in their lives,” she added.
“As an EL myself, I saw that EL perspective from the perspective of a teacher, and how that would take in the real world, because I only knew that as a student. All of the classes, and all of the preparation though being able to see it through that lens of ‘How do you prepare your students for the world being dual language speakers?’ was just amazing.”
Tyrka is among 21 new graduates from NIU’s PLEDGE (Partnering to Lead and Empower District-Grown Educators) program housed exclusively at Elgin Community College. Students never travel to DeKalb.
Joining her in earning the B.S. in Elementary Education with ESL endorsement are Jennifer Alzono, Sara Borisch, Leslie Cruz, Mariana Medina, Tim Mylnarski, Dalal Mohamed Ramirez, Britney Olivo, Ofelia Rodriguez and Sydney Siegbahn.
May 9’s completion celebration in Elgin (the fourth since PLEDGE launched in 2019) was the first to include Early Childhood Education majors: Rachel Anderson, Cindy Baggio, Emily Grzesik, Gabrielea Hernandez, Kiley Johnson, Elizamar Orduno, Laura Ramirez, Soraya Rodriguez-Juarez, Juliana Selvaggi, Zoe Soss and Anna Williams.
Bill Pitney, acting dean of the NIU College of Education, offered the first congratulations.
“Your role as an educator is truly the backbone our democratic society,” Pitney said.
“The social justice work you do by making education accessible, and by believing in every child, and seeing the assets and the strengths that they bring to the classroom, and seeing that in every single student, makes a difference,” he said.
“This is how we improve Elgin. This is how we improve Illinois. This is how we improve our nation,” he added. “So thank you – sincerely – to each and every one of you for stepping up to be an educator and to make a positive difference in our good communities. It’s really good stuff.”
Pitney told the audience that the PLEDGE initiative at ECC already has produced 53 graduates, 75% of whom continue to work in Elgin, as part of a concerted effort to confront the ongoing and mounting teacher shortage.
“District-grown educators – program such as this – offer a bit of a solution or at least some relief from that problem,” Pitney said.
“We know that when teachers are from the community, they’re more likely to stay in the community. We know that, being from the community, they understand the needs of the students and the families we serve. And they’re rooted here. They want to be here.”
Lawmakers in Springfield are noticing, ECC President David Sam told the audience, and would like to duplicate PLEDGE throughout the state.
“We have a solution in this very room,” Sam said. “You are being held up as the example.”
JOCELYNNE ESCONTRIAS, a 2022 graduate of PLEDGE, returned to the ECC campus to provide a local example.
The dual language teacher at Highland Elementary School in U-46 offered the keynote address.
“Standing before you, I can’t help but feel a profound connection. Just two short years ago, I was in your shoes, beginning the exhilarating yet challenging path of becoming an educator. Like you, I experienced the highs and lows, moments of self-doubt and the overwhelming joy of witnessing the impact we, as teachers, have on students’ lives,” Escontrias said.
“However, today is not about my journey. It’s about yours,” she added. “It’s about celebrating your resilience, perseverance and unwavering commitment to shaping future generations. Each of you has shown exceptional dedication and passion throughout your student-teaching journey, and this dedication has not gone unnoticed.”
For Jennifer Alonzo, an Elementary Education major from Elgin, the passion is simple.
“I like watching people grow,” Alonzo said, “watching students learn new things.”
NIU’s coursework “really prepared us for student-teaching,” she added, calling her time at Lords Park Elementary School “a great experience. It was challenging at first, but it was a great class. I feel like I know what to do going into the field now, in situations from educational to classroom management.”
Alonzo already has a contract with U-46 to being teaching this fall.
“Being able to have my own classroom, and do things that I feel work for me, is exciting and a little scary,” she said, “but I’m looking forward to it.”
So is Emily Grzesik.
The Glen Ellyn resident has spent the past 15 years in the beauty industry as an esthetician and small business owner. Meanwhile, she’s also worked since 2021 as a paraprofessional at U-46’s Independence Center for Early Learning.
Upon resuming her journey toward an associate degree a few years ago, she saw a promising horizon.
“I love kids. They have really changed my life, and working with kids is something I’ve always been interested in. Once I had the opportunity with ECC and NIU, it was something I couldn’t pass up,” Grzesik said. “I really have learned to grow and just have learned so much about the kids and myself overall. I realized something that I never thought was possible and I made it possible.”
She appreciates what preschool children – and even the first-graders she taught during her clinicals – bring to the table.
“They’re really fascinating. They’re sponges. You can get them to learn and to get excited about learning,” she said. “I think that’s a really great age for that.”
Grzesik also values her NIU preparation.
“It was really convenient, and the advisors really laid out every semester evenly,” she said. “The courses progress through at a good pace for you to be able to learn everything, and the professors are wonderful.”
Zoe Soss would agree.
“I feel what I’ve learned really prepared me, especially with the younger ones I’m working with. I really liked my math and science methods courses. Math is every day; same thing with reading,” Soss said. “Everything we went over are things I’m doing on a day-today basis.”
She has grown during her student-teaching placement at Big Timber Elementary School.
“The staff was so kind. My cooperating teacher made a big impact on how I view teaching today, and I loved the kids,” she said. “It was a great atmosphere to be in.”
And what drew her to a career in the classroom?
“I feel like teaching is a profession that really just found its way to me,” Soss said. “I have worked with kids from a young age and just fell in love with watching kids achieve every milestone and accomplishment – and celebrating that. I figured teaching would be a good fit for me.”
