By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
When Sydney Niernberger was a little girl, she set up a classroom in the family's basement where she was the bossy teacher to her younger sister.
"It's always been in me. It never wavered in me. I always wanted to be a teacher," she said.
She attended O'Loughlin Elementary School, Felten Middle School, Hays High School and then earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Fort Hays State University.
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Landing a job at Hays Middle School after college was her dream. Six years later, she's still teaching sixth-grade reading and language arts in the same school she attended as a child and loving it every day.
"My roots in Hays are very important to me, and I'm very proud to be here," she said.
Niernberger was nominated for the Hays Post Teacher of the Month by Jodi Brazda.
"Ms. Niernberger made my son's transition from elementary school to middle school incredibly easy. She was always free to answer any questions we had as well as listened intently to the concerns we had throughout the transition to a new school," Brazda said.
Brazda said Niernberger has a strong work ethic, is incredibly organized and is extremely transparent with her expectations.
"I truly believe my son's success in sixth grade was in large part to Ms. Niernberger. Not only was he on honor roll all semesters, but he matured greatly throughout his first year in middle school," Brazda said. "Without her help, I don't think he would have been as successful as he was. It's very easy for young boys to get distracted and off task, and she always managed to help him overcome both"
Niernberger continues to be inspired by the teachers she had when she was a student in Hays schools. She still keeps in touch with some of them and has photos hanging in her classroom of those special teachers.
Bill Maddy was Niernberger's middle school homeroom teacher.
"His care for the kids ... He made us feel so special and at home and loved," she said. "I will never forget that. Everyone loved Mr. Maddy. He was one of those very special teachers. I always wanted to be one of those teachers."
Her sixth-grade English teacher, Marilyn Engel, became her mentor when she was hired to work at Hays Middle School after graduating FHSU.
"She had this little classroom, but she made it feel so cozy. She was just the best," Niernberger said. ...
"It was very full circle," she said. "She taught me so many lessons. I could never repay her. She was definitely there for me and a very special person in my life. She means a lot to me."
Sixth grade can be tough as the students transition to a new school, but Niernberger said she thinks she's found her niche at the middle school.
"I love when people ask me what I do. I say I'm a middle school teacher and they look at me with the craziest face like 'Oh, my gosh. What's wrong with you?' I love that. They need someone there at this age," she said. ...
"I love this age, because they can be squirrelly little sixth graders, but they're so funny," she said. "Their personalities are coming out. I spend all day laughing. They thrive on that connection still with their teachers.
Niernberger said connection with her students has to come first because kids won't learn from teachers they don't like.
"You have to take the time and intention to get to know them," she said, "to see what makes them tick and who they are."
Her heart is broken by some of the challenges her students face.
"I can't imagine being an 11- or 12-year-old and having to go through what some of them go through," she said. "If I can be that one person who can take the time to understand them and just listen to them and get to know them, I have to do that first before I can teach them something. ...
"They need that one trusted adult and that person who can be there for them, and then we can get to the reading and language arts and get them excelling in that aspect."
Some days she goes home crying.
"Just because you work 8 to 3, that doesn't shut off," she said. "You're still thinking about your kids and what they're going through. Sometimes you're lying in bed at night worrying about one of your kids.
"Did they eat dinner tonight? Did they get fed? I hope they got picked up from school on time. That doesn't shut off. Your kids are your kids."
Despite the sleepless nights and challenges, Niernberger says she feels blessed.
"Day to day it can be hard to remember, but this is the dream that I had. It is cool that I'm living that every day. I feel very blessed because I'm young and people sometimes don't find their niche when their young off the bat," Niernberger said.
"I thank my lucky stars that I'm here every day. I love my job. I genuinely wake up every day, and I am excited to come see the kids and co-workers, and that's what keeps me going."