Cindy Vanetta

As a child, Cindy Vanetta's dad instilled in her a love of reading. He had an extensive library, and it was considered a great treat to be permitted to read a book from it. But the children had to prove they were ready for such an honor by reading certain books their father required first. Then, when they had completed his canon of works, they could move on to more adult literature.

This tiny seed of love for reading later blossomed into Cindy's lifelong devotion. She is now the Volunteer Coordinator and Title I Administrator for all of Burrell School District, as well as the reading specialist for Read to Succeed and Title I. It didn't happen overnight, though. It took years of patience, hard work, and a dedication to educate and be educated.

After two years of college, Mrs. Vanetta got married and had children. When she was about 28 she decided to finish her degree to teach Elementary Education. Upon graduating, she taught for five years at St. Margaret Mary's. Then she decided to go back to school again and received her Master of Language Arts from Pitt. But this was still not enough; she needed to know more. She began the Doctoral program and became a Reading Supervisor, which means she is qualified to coach teachers and evaluate reading programs. This job allows her to work with parents, teachers, and administrators to develop the best curriculum and volunteer programs for their children. As for getting the job at Burrell, Cindy explained, "I was just in the right place at the right time. I showed up."

As the Volunteer Coordinator, she oversees 14 programs that supplement regular teaching. Volunteers are usually parents who donate their time by working with children who might need extra practice in a certain subject or more individualized attention. Title I is a federally funded program that focuses on math and reading. As the administrator over this, Cindy, identifies the needs, addresses those needs, as well as reinforcing the child's grade level material so he/she is up to speed with the rest of the students in that grade. Both these programs specifically target children in kindergarten through second grade.

The part of the job Cindy loves most is "seeing kids learn. It's delightful. There's nothing like seeing a child understand something you've been trying to teach them." Also, she was resplendent in her praise of her colleagues; "My school world is filled with people who care about kids. My work environment is wonderful." And specifically in regard to the administration and school board, "If it's good for kids, they'll fight for it." In sum, the administration is very supportive of Mrs. Vanetta's ideas, and implementations.

Mrs. Vanetta mentioned that over the 30 or so years she's been teaching, "Kids are kids. They haven't changed at all." But the problems they face, and the knowledge they come to school with are much different than when she first started. She explained that now, kids often begin school with more background experiences such as visiting museums and taking more trips than previously. One might think the added knowledge makes children more mature, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, it's quite the opposite, she said and speculated as to why. She believes that more recently, children have not been able to enjoy the independence that children many years ago did as a result of the changes in society. Children today are much more structured in their time, even playtime; so many come to school lacking the social skills of children a generation ago.

But these new challenges have not deterred Mrs. Vanetta in her pursuit of excellence in education. It only makes her resolve stronger to excite children about reading and learning. Sadly though, for the children of Burrell, Mrs. Vanetta is considering retirement this year.

Cindy's husband has already been retired for two and a half years, and she would like the opportunity to spend more time with him and their grandchildren. She said her family is just wonderful.

In their spare time, Cindy and her husband are square dancers, and they belong to a demo group that visits hospitals and nursing homes for entertainment. She also enjoys genealogy. And they travel a good bit; they've seen Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alaska, as well as states surrounding PA. When they go on these trips, they like to visit historical sites and learn about the area. Even on vacation, she focuses on education, and she said to me, "It won't matter if I retire; I don't think I'll ever give up teaching."

These are the educators of the Alle-Kiski valley we are pleased and honored to have teaching our children. Cindy Vanetta is a teacher to the core; she has a deep down and driving passion for educating, and without a doubt she'll be teaching long after she leaves the classroom for the last time.