As Teacher Appreciation Week wraps up, Raccoon Valley Radio would like to showcase a special education teacher that has spent her entire career thus far at Panorama School District.

Jessica Diltz is coming to the end of her eighth year teaching kindergarten through fifth grade students, and the Maquoketa native came straight to Panorama after graduating college. Diltz says her love of the community and the ongoing support the elementary staff shares is what’s kept her with the Panthers. She says it’s been a teachable experience switching to online learning with her students, but she’s worked to student’s needs, from dropping off assignments at a student’s home, to frequently holding Zoom meetings with others, “Some of my students don’t work best (with) paper and pencil so it’s a little bit creative as to some of the assignments that they’re doing. You know it might be more of a scavenger hunt where they’re doing a scavenger hunt around their backyard. We’ve definitely had to get creative on some of the different assignments.”

Diltz mentions she’s grateful for the amazing parents she communicates with in accomplishing virtual learning as students stay at home for the rest of the year. She says she was also pleasantly surprised by the May basket she and the rest of the District staff received from the administrative team last week.