ROCHELLE — One of Janice Prusator’s fondest memories of her time at Focus House is doing the dishes. 

“For a while we'd do chores with the kids,” Prusator said. “One was doing dishes after lunch. I loved to do dishes. I would wash and another student would rinse or dry. That was a neat time. Any time we had the opportunity to work side-by-side. It's fun to work with the students."

Prusator will be retiring at the end of this school year after 31 years as a teacher at Focus House. She’s spent that time working with at-risk students and watching them and the facility and program grow. She’s grown over that time, too. 

“For me it's been continual learning and growth,” Prusator said. “Just the nature of Focus House, it's constant change. There's always something new. Teaching here, every semester I teach something new. If I were to give you a list of all the subjects I've taught it'd be in the 20s. Everything from English to wood shop to chemistry. You name it, I've taught it. Every semester I have to learn along with them, which is great. I love it."

Prusator’s position as head teacher also involves evaluating what each student needs and fulfilling those needs according to school requirements. 

A lot of the classes are set up for students to learn at their own pace. 

“One of the priorities is getting them back to feeling successful in the classroom and enjoying learning,” Prusator said. “That's the biggest goal. Feel safe and comfortable and look to love learning more."

Being a teacher was never Prusator’s intention earlier in her life. She majored in psychology and worked in sales after college. She left that job after deciding to get married. She had always been curious about and enjoyed studying behavior disorders with at-risk youth. 

She decided to go back to school and get her master’s degree in special education with that area targeted. She didn’t know Focus House existed at that time. 

“I taught in a few schools,” Prusator said. “An opening came up at the high school and I applied for it. Mr. Creason said he thought he might have the right place for me. He introduced me to Focus House where they were looking for a teacher and the rest was history.”

Prusator believes she stayed at Focus House because she loves the people she works with. She said she’s been blessed by “incredible” mentors and friends over the years. 

“I've learned and grown so much with and because of them,” Prusator said. “It's just always something new every year. Like going to a new job. And I just love this group of kids."

When Prusator started at Focus House, there were animals on site including a german shepherd, cats, sheep, goats and peacocks. She started the year the gym was being built in 1991. She spent her first day laying tile in one of the locker rooms alongside students. 

She’s worked in every building at Focus House and even had a classroom in the farm house. 

She went on trips to Springfield with students about 30 times. Those trips were a highlight of her teaching career. One summer they took a trip to Washington D.C. 

“I have so many wonderful memories of introducing the students to new experiences,” Prusator said. “The first time they stayed at a hotel or went to a really fancy restaurant. We used to take them camping and into Chicago.”

Prusator believes the importance of Focus House has changed a little bit over the years for students, but one thing has always been common. 

“This is a place where students can feel safe learning about themselves and their capabilities and learning how to have positive relationships with people from different ages and backgrounds,” Prusator said. “And just being totally accepted for who they are, where they are."

Prusator’s decision to retire was made a few years ago with the intention of spending more time with her husband, Todd, who retired in recent years as superintendent of the Rochelle Elementary School District. Her final year seemed to come up sooner than she expected. 

“Even at the end of last year, the thought of only having one year left kind of scared me,” Prusator said. “I thought I wasn't ready to go yet. But I think it'll be time. It's going to be tough. Just looking around my room, there are so many memories. It's hard to imagine my life without Focus House.”