Whether she’s helping students, working with teachers or passing by people in the hallways of Kaneland High School, Kylene Brantner is a radiant force of positivity to every person she encounters. Prioritizing her connections with students is what makes her stand out as a teacher and is how she makes a difference in the lives of those she works with.
Brantner, who is a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) teacher at KHS, believes that getting to know students is the first step in determining how to best help them.
“I always say ‘I need to know every kid by name and need,’” she said. “Relationships and building that connection are probably at the forefront of what I find is important.”
When building relationships with students, Brantner sometimes needs to take baby steps. Some students will open up right away, she said, but others take more time. Showing that she cares about the student that she’s working with beyond academics, like asking about their life outside of school, is how she establishes trust.
Fellow MTSS teacher Matthew Czerak sees how taking the time and putting in the effort to get to know students makes Brantner a trusted adult for many students.
“I think [students] seeing that she cares about them and knowing that they have someone that they can go to and trust is where she really connects well with those kids,” Czerak said.
Brantner also prioritizes creating a comfortable environment for students to learn in. Lamps, decorations and flexible seating are just some of the things that have transformed a former conference room into an oasis for students, which is now the academic advisory classroom.
“We really try hard to make this an environment that they want to come to and [somewhere] they feel safe and supported,” Brantner said.
To students, Brantner’s dedication to helping their peers is evident. Senior Andie Ruckh, who had Brantner as a teacher during her freshman, sophomore and junior years, described how Brantner’s kind personality and strong communication skills impact the students she works with.
“They know they have someone to go to, so they don’t stress out about their work,” Ruckh said. “She makes me feel very comfortable, like I could talk to her about anything.”
In addition to building strong relationships with her students, Brantner also goes above and beyond to help them achieve their goals. Ruckh described how Brantner will make organizers for students to help them manage their work and teach herself material in her free time to better be able to help students. Czerak also sees her commitment to students in her willingness to do anything to help them.
“I often give her a hard time about how I don’t think she knows how to say no,” Czerak said. “If a kid asks her for anything, she just won’t say no. It doesn’t matter how much time or effort it takes her, she just will do it to help other people.”
From the time she was in high school, Brantner knew she wanted to be a teacher. However, school didn’t always come easy for her.
“Did I always like school? Not so much,” she said.
She described having to work hard to do well in her classes, which makes her want to help students enjoy school more.
Brantner graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in education and later went on to get a master’s degree in reading education from Olivet Nazarene University. Despite liking math much more, she chose to get her master’s degree in reading education so that she could be a more well-rounded teacher.
She spent her first 10 years in the Schaumburg school district, working as a third grade teacher, special education teacher and reading specialist. During this time, she knew she didn’t love elementary school. So when the opportunity came to teach night school for high schoolers who had been kicked out of school, she took it and fell in love with teaching those grade levels.
When she returned to teaching after spending six years at home with her own kids, she came to Kaneland High School and has been teaching MTSS ever since. For her, teaching MTSS has been the perfect fit.
“I knew I wanted to teach high school, and I knew I wanted to work with a group of kids that needed extra support,” she said. “This is pretty much my dream position.”
At KHS, MTSS has three main components: credit recovery, academic advisory and the academic resource center. Credit recovery is a class that juniors and seniors can take that provides online-based instruction to recover credit from failed classes. Academic advisory is a rostered class for students who have failed previous semesters and need help getting back on track. The academic resource center is open every period except homeroom for students to come for extra support during their study halls or lunch hours.
Brantner teaches the academic advisory class with Czerak and helps in the academic resource center. After she’s done teaching, she’s often busy with her three sons’ athletic activities.
In addition to her kids’ sports, Brantner likes to be active as well. She also likes architecture and design, which she can apply to her other job as a real estate agent. Both she and her husband are real estate agents, but they haven’t been doing it much this year, Brantner said. They are also currently building a house in Elgin.
For Brantner, balancing family and work has been a challenge. Her goal is to be both a great teacher and great mom, not just mediocre. Fortunately, her positivity and the genuine relationships she cultivates with the people around her make her shine.
“It’s impossible not to like her, I think,” Czerak said.
Her charm can be attributed to one simple thing: connection. Whether in teaching or life, having genuine conversations with those around her are what elevate her to greatness.
“Connection is definitely something that I put at the forefront not just here at school, but outside of school too,” Brantner said.
In the future, she hopes to continue connecting with students to provide the most support she can.
“I tell my students this all the time: It’s not just about math and science and reading,” Brantner said. “There’s so much more to life, and if you’re able to connect with people and ask questions and build relationships…sometimes that matters more than anything.”
