Beloved kindergarten teacher Missy DiSibio has retired from Richard L. Rice Elementary School, closing out 23 years of service to Evesham schools.
DiSibio reflected fondly on her time in the district and the unique pathway that got her there.
Prior to moving to New Jersey, DiSibio taught children all over the country. She began her career teaching kindergarten as far away as Colorado, and eventually became the director of a child-care center in Maryland. When her husband’s job required coming to the state, DiSibio found herself in Marlton and has spent the last 30 years truly immersing herself in the community.
“My kids all came through Rice school,” she recalled. “I was on the Rice PTA for many years serving as a board member.”
After spending some time at home to raise her children, DiSibio decided to go back to work as an educator. She bounced between Rice and Jaggard Elementary, before becoming a full-time kindergarten teacher at the former.
“Now, I’ve spent 20 years in the same classroom,” DiSibio noted of the life she built at Rice. “This has been my home for a very long time. I live and breathe owls! I got to know this community from the inside out, and when I got here as a teacher, I was able to bridge those gaps between being a parent and an educator in the same community.”
DiSibio remembered being nervous at the prospect of teaching at a school she considers to be in her own backyard. While her experience as a parent and PTA board member involved entirely different roles in the community, it translated into an invaluable experience that served her well as a teacher.
“I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time and effort building relationships with parents and kids,” said DiSibio, reflecting on a philosophy of education paper she’d written while earning her bachelor’s in early-childhood education. Even then, she had a foundational understanding of the teacher she wanted to be: emphasizing three pillars that connected students, teachers and families together.
“To build those kinds of relationships is really important to me,” she explained. “It’s really about trust, and building that trustworthy environment not just for kids, but also for entire families. I’m part of their story, and I really take that to heart.
“I want it to be a worthwhile experience for the kids,” DiSibio continued, “but I also want the parents to know that they can trust me. I might not have all the answers, but if we all work together as a team to collaborate, we’ll work through it.
“At the end of the day, it’s really about making sure their child is safe, happy and learning.”
DiSibio said it’s those special relationships cultivated over the years that she will miss the most in her retirement. It prides her to know that she has gotten to watch entire families expand and grow up first hand, citing one family in particular whose fifth and final child came through her classroom this year.
DiSibio acknowledged that she will miss her students, but also the friends she’s made among fellow teachers.
“I feel like my success today is not about me,” she related. “It is about a massive group of people. The kids who’ve been coming to this school for years, the parents who have entrusted me with their kids in my classroom and the staff I work with.
“This school (Rice) is remarkable, and everyone is so willing to help,” DiSibio added. “Success is not singular. It’s about how everyone comes together: family, students, teachers.”
Missy DiSibio has spent the last 30 years immersing herself in the community where she teaches.
