THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512060151
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP!
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
WHEN DIANNE RUSNAK entered college, her father urged her to consider a career in education.
``My father kept saying I should go into teaching and I fought it,'' Rusnak said.
Rusnak's grandfather, who was a high school chemistry teacher, agreed with her.
It was during her junior year at Western Carolina University that Rusnak, who was majoring in history, changed her mind and made a decision to enter the teaching profession. When she graduated from the university, Rusnak received a bachelor's degree in education with a major in mental retardation.
``I decided that's what I wanted to do,'' she said. ``No other career interested me. As a teen, I baby-sat with a retarded child and I was comfortable with him. He was physically as well as mentally handicapped and I enjoyed working with him.''
In later years, while working on a practicum, Rusnak arranged to drive her friend to school and worked with him in the classroom.
That learning experience was preparation for a career that has earned Rusnak national recognition as the 1995 Outstanding Teacher for the Virginia Council of Learning Disabilities. One of 10 teachers nationwide to be recognized, she was honored at an awards luncheon recently at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.
Rusnak, 41, teaches fourth- and fifth-graders at S.P. Morton Middle School. Nominated for the state award by Earlene Sprouse, educational diagnostician for Franklin schools, and Melinda Boone, director of special education and pupil services, Rusnak was asked to write a paper on her philosophy of education. The award-winning paper was accompanied by several letters of recommendation.
Rusnak received the Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities Outstanding Teacher Award for 1995 last spring at the state council's annual conference in Fairfax.
Although Rusnak is qualified to teach the mentally handicapped, she explained that a child who is learning disabled differs from a mentally handicapped child.
``A child who is learning disabled has an average intelligence, but has one or more problem areas,'' she said. ``I have a student who is a `whiz' in math, but has trouble with reading and written expression. He just can't get it down on paper.''
Rusnak said she is encouraged by the education system's new approach to reading, however.
``There is a whole change in how we're looking at special needs' students,'' she said. ``I'm teaching a reading class that involves those who are learning disabled with those who are not,'' she said. ``I've found that I'm pulling some things that were traditionally done in special education classrooms and using them in regular class. I look at each individual student to see what that student needs . . . matching the curriculum to the student. We have always done this in special education.''
Rusnak believes that capturing the interest of fourth- and fifth-graders is crucial.
``If you don't keep them interested in education, you're going to lose them,'' she said. ``So many have come to me who haven't succeeded and I have to get them excited again . . . to help them succeed in something. I want these children to succeed, and I won't settle for anything less. We want them to pass the Virginia Literacy Test and to graduate from high school.''
``The biggest challenge is not having enough time,'' Rusnak continued. ``Every teacher has a child he or she just can't reach and you always worry about them. It's very frustrating and I always wonder if I've done what I should. But the flip side is when you see a light bulb come on and a student is very excited about learning. Thank goodness for students that keep you going.''
A native of Meridian, Miss., Rusnak grew up with three brothers in Winston-Salem, N.C.
In 1976, she married Ronald Rusnak, who is employee relations supervisor at Hercules Inc. Residents of Franklin for the past five years, the couple have two sons, Barrett, 13, and Logan, 11, both students at S.P. Morton.
Rusnak works with the Youth Group at the Franklin Baptist Church. A member of the Franklin/Southampton Reading Council, she enjoys reading, cross-stitch, and taking weekend trips with her family. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Dianne Rusnak works with student Jeanette Jordan at S.P. Morton
Middle School.
by CNB