LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Kathleen Janesh was nominated by her colleague, Lora Kaserman.

"Since Kathleen came to Riverside Local, she has put her blood, sweat, money, and tears into helping her TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) students.  In my many years of teaching, I have never seen a teacher take her job so seriously and take their jobs 'home' with them like Mrs. Janesh does," said Kaserman.

Mrs. Janesh's job is to assist students whose primary language isn't English. Her challenge is to tutor them and help them succeed in their regular classes. This task has many difficulties, such as overcoming the language barrier for both the students and their parents, keeping up with what each student is doing in their regular classes, and helping them to complete the assignments or re-explaining them in a way that they will understand.

Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Riverside High School went remote. This put the TESOL students at a huge disadvantage because not seeing teachers in person was hard for them in regards to the language barriers. Additionally, many of the TESOL students and their families didn't even have Internet in order for them to be able to participate in Zoom lessons and submit assignments.  Mrs. Janesh communicated with the students' teachers regularly and found out which students were having trouble or did not have Internet. She used her own printer paper and ink to print out the assignments for those students.  She drove around the city to make house calls and drop off the students' work at their own houses. Mrs. Janesh met the students' families, spoke with the students about the work, checked in on them, and even paid postage to mail assignments to students' homes. Then, she mailed the assignments or found other ways to get their work to their respective teachers. Many of the students were able to stay caught up due to Mrs. Janesh's kindness, selflessness, and hard work.

"In addition to going above and beyond when we were remote, Mrs. Janesh shows her willingness to help students and staff in other ways," said Kaserman. "Whenever we have a book that students are required to purchase for my English class, Mrs. Janesh purchases the books for her TESOL students with her own money to make sure they have everything they need to complete their assignments for class.  She has done this for years.  She also helps staff by communicating with them regularly about her students and offering her help and suggestions. Furthermore, she is willing to share her materials, such as when she let me borrow a book she purchased which included ACT vocabulary words. I used it to plan my curriculum for the following school year."

"I can think of no better example of someone who gives themselves so completely to her students other than Mrs. Janesh.  When her students struggle, she struggles.  If her students are having a hard time in their personal lives, Mrs. Janesh knows about it and empathizes with them, often taking their life burdens onto her own shoulders.  I recommend Mrs. Janesh for this recognition without reserve," said Kaserman.