With more than three decades of teaching, special education science teacher Jill Cyhaniuk feels she  will retire at the ideal age for teachers,

“So for teachers when it comes to retirement, the optimal age to retire, if you have more than 30 years of experience, is 61 and a half,” Cyhaniuk said. 

Before becoming a teacher, Cyhaniuk was an insurance claims adjuster, spending her day constantly dealing with upset customers. She eventually realized that the environment was emotionally draining and took advice from a friend to become a substitute teacher.

After becoming a substitute teacher, Cyhaniuk realized that she preferred to pursue a career where students were happy to see her rather than an environment with only negative claims.

She began teaching bilingual first-grade students in the district of Baldwin Park. However, being a substitute in the district of Duarte pushed her to work with special education students. Eventually, she interviewed for an official position as a special education teacher.

“When I was interviewed for this position, I thought it was going to be an elementary school position, and then they offered me the high school year, and I was a little reluctant, but it was the best decision I could have made,” Cyhaniuk said. 

Cyhaniuk recalls that the children she taught only had limited conversations with her and she preferred a more mature environment. 

“They were more like kindergarteners. They would say to me, ‘Miss C, Miss C, my tummy hurts’. And in the beginning, I would send them to the office, and then I realized their tummy hurt because they’re hungry,” Cyhaniuk said.

Within her 33 years on campus, Cyhaniuk has contributed to the progression in education for special education students. She became the co-advisor for Best Buddies, an initiative to pair up a general education student with a student with special needs. 

“Sometimes they go eat, or they go to the movies, or we would have events like bowling. There was a Best Buddies prom that the kids would go to, general ed and special ed, and we would meet once a month during lunch, where we would do activities and such,” Cyhaniuk said. 

Along with also being the founder and coordinator for WCHS’s Workability, a federally funded program that helps special education students obtain work experience to be able to work after high school.  

“The program would place students in different jobs around the community like Journeys we had. Where did we last go? Journeys, some of the shops in the malls. We had Dollar Tree for a while, CVS, different places like that. They would get the work experience there that they needed, but the school district had the money to pay their salary, so they would get paid through the district,” Cyhaniuk said. 

Cyhaniuk focused on preparing students for the real world. As a former transition specialist, she wanted her students to be good citizens in their communities.

“I know they’re not always going to remember all the academics that they learn, but I want them to learn how to be good citizens, to the community, good employees, have good work ethics. That’s what I really want the students to end up with,” Cyhaniuk said.

Over the years, Cyhaniuk has taught math and co-taught English, but now focused on science. 

Part of her job involves writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students, which can be difficult because they are highly specific to each student. 

“I think that’s the hardest part of my job. Is doing that, because it’s like a job in itself,” Cyhaniuk said. 

Despite the challenges within her job, she appreciates the bond she built with her students, especially after spending at least two years with the many of them ,sometimes following them throughout their entire high school career. 

Sophomore Adam Villaneda will miss Cyhaniuk and his favorite memory was talking about the school’s past. 

“She talked when she told me about the used to be the Spartans here,” Villaneda said.

Cyhaniuk described a situation in which a student close to her, Sheri Watson, died five months after Cyhaniuk gave birth to her son. Watson was a type one diabetic and was able to help Cyhaniuk when she was pregnant and had to go on insulin. Watson was set to graduate in 1996 and died in the fall of 1994. 

“Sheri unfortunately died five months after my son was born, and I had saved work and stuff that she had written about her family. So after she passed away, I went to see her mom, and I gave her mom all the writings that she had done about how much she loved her mom and cherished her mom, and then her mom and I continued to send Christmas cards for like 20 years,” Cyhaniuk said.

With the time that Cyhaniuk has dedicated to teaching, she has had the opportunity of seeing some of her former students’ children on campus and  them succeed, completing her goal of seeing her students be accomplished in the real world.

Cyhaniuk completed her last year with former WCHS science teacher Candace Franck as a substitute,but not having her close friend and former science teacher Jin Zhou, who retired two years ago, in addition to Sharon Pedersen, another close friend of hers.

“The four of us, we like to go out, hang out, go out to lunch. Ms. Pederson next door. She and I actually had our kids grow up together, and so we would hang out. But I’ve known Ms. Zhou since about 2001 and we’ve been pretty close, and she has a son that’s the same age as mine, and they used to play basketball together, stuff, but yeah, I mean, we talk all the time,” Cyhaniuk said. 

After retiring, Cyhaniuk plans to work at Hobby Lobby to be able to receive her fullSsocial Security benefits since teachers didn’t pay into Social Security up until a year and a half ago.

“But having worked in the area where you get Social Security, we are entitled to it, unfortunately. And you have to have at least 40 quarters, or 10 full years. I have 39 quarters. So I have to go, I have to get a job that pays into Social Security, just for a little bit of the time,” Cyhaniuk said.

She plans to visit Alaska and the Netherlands to see the northern lights. 

Before the school year comes to an end, Cyhaniuk has been receiving signatures from teachers and former students on a Dr. Seuss “Oh, the places you’ll go!” book. 

“This is something that we give in the special ed department. We give all graduating and seniors one and so all the teachers and the counselors have a chance to write messages for the students, specific messages to them in the book,” Cyhaniuk said.

On the last day of school, Cyhaniuk will be exactly 61 and a half.