Rebecca Traywick

Attending “fifty different colleges” didn’t stop Ms. Traywick from following her dreams and becoming a teacher.

Growing up in Arkansas, just over the bridge, in West Memphis, her father was a farmer. As a child, she learned how to drive tractors and do daily farm tasks. Traywick knew she wanted to be a some type of teacher but was unsure where she wanted to go for college. Mrs. Traywick jokes she “attended fifty different colleges trying to figure out what I wanted to b  In the end, she ended up getting her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Memphis. Then pursued her Master’s from Arkansas State University.

She is the new Special Education Preschool teacher at Donelson Elementary School. At first, she went to school to get her Bachelors in Elementary Education. Then, something made her change her mind. “I taught one year as a second grade teacher and I fell more in love with my children that had IEPs”. This is what made her go back to school to get her degree in Special Education.

This year will be her 13th year of teaching Preschool. She adores the kids, always trying to make it a great learning environment for everyone. Traywick has a very positive way at looking at teaching, “…you have to have fun to teach little ones something they could care less about.”

“We play and we have fun.” She works hard to make sure her teaching style is interactive and play focused.

Teaching younger students has its challenges.  Not every student she teaches communicates using words, and because of this, she uses other methods to help them. For some kids, she tries to help them find their words or they will have their therapist come in and works with the kids. Along with this, they use pictures, touch, and use modes of communication to show what they would like. “That’s always the most difficult thing, but once they get it, it’s the easiest and happiest time.”

Traywick brings many things to the table as a teacher. She has taught at a variety of schools, with all different kinds of students. She then decided to come teach at Donelson, she felt like it had a family dynamic to it.”It felt like home whenever, I came in, and people are genuinely happy and want to help you.” She also says, “Arlington, in general, is much more rigorous, like their academics are a lot more… the students are challenged more and are have higher expectations.”

“I am excited for this new chapter and can’t wait find out everything Arlington and Donelson have to offer.”