by Austin Bainbridge

Sacred Heart Middle School teacher Lynne Evanczyk’s day is never truly over as she helps a student with homework after school hours while also planning school-wide events and creating lesson plans for the next day.

Evanczyk attended JHS and graduated in 1977 in a class with around 800 students. She then went on to attend Hanover College for her bachelor’s degree and went on to Indiana University Southeast for her master’s degree. She went on the job hunt and was preparing to take a job in Texas, but her connections from JHS got her local job. 

“I’m very thankful that my connections in the public education system helped me to get a job closer to home,” Evanczyk said.  

Evanczyk is a very hard-working teacher. She works every Sacred Heart event possible. She also usually helps to plan every event. She leads most committees and always finds time to help students, no matter the hour. 

“She puts in a lot more time and work than the other teachers at Sacred Heart; she’s always willing to help,” said seventh grader Adeline Bainbridge.

Evanczyk taught in the public school system for two years and has been teaching private school for 41 years. She likes to think that she combines elements of the style of teaching used in both settings that other teachers cannot.

“I believe in bringing a mixture of the love of learning and discipline into the classroom,” she said.

Evanczyk started out teaching second grade. She then was offered a position as a seventh-grade science teacher. She loved the position and has worked in the Sacred Heart Middle School ever since.

“If I had to say one thing, my favorite part about teaching is seeing the look in a kid’s eye when they realize they mastered a topic.”

Sacred Heart Teacher Lynne Evanczyk

“I fell in love with doing middle school science. I always enjoyed using microscopes and dissecting frogs. That’s stuff you just can’t do with second graders,” she stated.

She also likes to get to know her students and create a positive learning environment. She said that if she knows her students it’s much easier to teach them.  

 Bainbridge said, “When I enter her room I feel welcome and accepted, like I can still get things wrong but not feel embarrassed.”

Evanczyk prides herself on making her lessons interesting while still being easy to learn. She often uses examples and takes extra time if a student needs it.

“She is very energetic and cares if we understand the topic. I never felt like I was on an island with her as my teacher,” said Trinity High School freshman Caleb Johnson.

Evanczyk’s students also enjoy her being their teacher for other reasons. They say that she is a great teacher for preparing them for high school. She likes to assign work at the rate high school teachers would and always likes to make sure her students go to a high school that’s a better fit for them.

“She really helped me prepare for high school like other teachers didn’t. She helped me prepare for a high school workload and style of learning,” said Johnson.

She says JHS greatly impacted her career. Her teachers at JHS are the people that made her want to teach. Without Jeff she couldn’t have been such an impactful teacher.

“My teachers at Jeff really influenced me, especially my science teacher. I felt how they all impacted me and I thought I want to be able to do that. I really am appreciative of all the teachers at Sacred Heart and Jeff that helped me become a better educator,” said Evanczyk.

Evanczyk loves teaching for many reasons, from interacting with kids to having fun events. She said that she has one favorite item about teaching:

“If I had to say one thing, my favorite part about teaching is seeing the look in a kid’s eye when they realize they mastered a topic. That really makes me feel very happy because they are so overjoyed to realize they know what was taught.”