Chocachatti principal to move onto a different beat
On Friday afternoon, Maria Rybka, principal of Chocachatti Elementary School, coordinates dismissal as she has done for the past six years. Students brush past her to get to their cars, smiling at the only principal they’ve known for their entire history at the magnet school.
There is a hint of melancholy in the air, however, especially for students who will be returning for the 2013-14 school year in the fall. Last week, Rybka announced she will be leaving Chocachatti to administer in the private sector.
Her decision to leave public education wasn’t entered into lightly, Rybka said. Her lengthy affiliation with Penny Bryson, the facilitator of a private learning facility in Brooksville for children who learn differently, is coming full circle.
Rybka had followed the opening of Academy at the Beat, a therapy-based private facility on Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Brooksville that caters to children with neurological disorders.
In its second year, the school has grown from 10 to 48 students with plans to continue on that path.
Bryson once again approached Rybka, asking her to join the team.
“We’ve talked about it a lot over the years, somewhat jokingly,” Bryson said. “But this time, I was serious. And this time Maria said yes.”
Rybka and Bryson met for the first time at Eastside Elementary School 14 years ago.
“I still remember that day,” said Bryson. She was introduced to Rybka, who had just been hired as the assistant principal. Bryson was a speech pathologist, directed by the Exceptional Student Education Department of the Hernando County School Board, and worked full time with Eastside students.
They bonded immediately, Bryson remembered, because they discovered a commonality.
“We both wanted to focus on the entire child, not just the academic part of it,” she said.
Rybka left Eastside eight years later to become principal of Chocachatti Elementary School, and Bryson went on to start her therapy clinic, Therapy Beat, in Brooksville. They remained close friends and colleagues.
In August, the two will reunite under the same umbrella, working together once again on a common goal of providing alternative education to children who learn differently.
Rybka will be coming on board as administrator for Entirety K-12, formerly known as Academy at the Beat.
“The timing just seemed right,” said Rybka. “I think Penny is a visionary. I think she sees in me that I can take it to the next level with her help. And I am excited to do that.”
Academy at the Beat began as a pilot program in August 2011 with just 10 students who were struggling for balance in the public school system.
Bryson operated Therapy Beat, an outpatient speech therapy clinic that used dance and rhythm to therapy her patients. Therapy Beat recognized that the combination had a direct effect on opening the pathways to the brain linked to certain learning disorders, like dyslexia.
Bryson pioneered a home-based therapy program, called Reading in Rhythm, to help children suffering from neurological disorders learn to read. It is currently being published.
That led to the opening of Academy at the Beat, on the suggestion of a few parents of her patients who pleaded with Bryson to teach their children full time.
The school focuses on the concept that not all children learn the same. Children who attend have some form of neurological disability that is addressed through alternative methods including yoga, brain gym exercises and group and one-on-one instruction.
They offer a full curriculum for children from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Now in its second year, Academy at the Beat is undergoing a new branding, changing its name to Entirety K-12. “The new name,” Bryson said, “was Maria’s idea. We wanted to focus on the entire child.”
Bryson hopes that by bringing Rybka onboard, she can then focus on getting Reading in Rhythm published and into the homes of the children who need it.
Clinical therapies aren’t enough, she said. “Parents need an option they can do inside their homes.”
With Rybka onboard, Bryson will be freer to work on getting Reading in Rhythm into the homes that need it while bringing the school to the next level of learning. “I couldn’t trust the running of the school to anyone but Maria,” she said.
Rybka said leaving her students at Chocachatti will be difficult.
“I believe the kids at Chocachatti are really independent seekers and can take on a lot of challenges and will do really well.” After a pause, she added, “I want to thank them and let them know I love them and will miss them.”
