By SYDNEY BRICE – Mrs. Kristin Bytner is a new speech language therapist for the Indiana Area School District.

Bytner began working with students at Indiana in November. She began her time teaching at three different buildings: Horace Mann, the Junior High, and the Senior High. Her time was short at each building which made it difficult for her to meet other teachers and students at the schools. 

Bytner stated, “I felt like at the beginning it was a bit of a struggle because I was learning to juggle three different buildings. Last year I did an all about me Google form with the staff in May to allow them to get to know me.” Bytner shared, “This year it’s easier to get to know everybody because of my schedule, last year my days were very divided and this year I’m here for a more solid amount of time at each building.”

Last year, due to the pandemic, teachers were placed in a complete synchronous model with little time to adapt.

Bytner expressed, “I was nervous at first, because of the nature of speech therapy, I was afraid of the technology piece, but I feel that my generation has grown up with technology so I was able to adapt well with it. 

Not being able to work with students directly was something new for many teachers and each has had to find ways to adapt. “This has taught me to put more trust in my students’ abilities. I was very impressed with how they were able to adapt and make progress at the same time,” commented Bytner.

 “I would love for the faculty and staff to know my love for sports and fitness. It would be awesome to have opportunities in the future to volunteer at different sporting events. I can’t forget about my fur baby! My husband and I have a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who is five years old and we enjoy hiking with her and going to the beach,” adds Bytner.

The High Arrow is happy to spotlight this welcome addition to the teaching staff and wish her the best of luck going forward.

[Photo courtesy of Mrs. Bytner]

Photo Caption: “Mrs. Bytner spending time with her dog and her husband.”