When giving a recent tour around Pine Grove Elementary School, Ms. Shayne Ostrowski was greeted by several students walking through the hallways. The faces of the kids lit up with smiles while they were lining up in the halls and they waved  their little hands in the air. Ms. Ostrowski responded with a warm smile and a friendly wave.

Many students from around Pine Grove continue to express their gratitude and love for Ostrowski. She has a passion for teaching and wants to make the world a better place. 

“Yes, her presence has definitely had a positive impact,” said PGS Principal Nicole LaPerriere. “Her dedication to her students and her ability to connect with them on a personal level have been noticed by both staff and families, as she consistently goes above and beyond for her students.”

Ms. Ostrowski is a new special education teacher at Pine Grove Elementary School. Although she has only been here for a few  weeks, she has already left a mark on the kids. She comes from a background in law but has found that she enjoyed teaching more.

When Ms. Ostrowski was a little girl, all she wanted to do was be a veterinarian. However, like most little kids dreams, it didn’t work out due to her affection for them.

“I wouldn’t be able to deal with the times when you couldn’t help them,” said Ostrowski.

After completing high school, she went on to get her law degree from Bentley University, and soon after, became a paralegal at a corporate company. After having kids of her own, she realized  and decided to go back to school in order to make a real change. She went to Gordon College in Wenham to get her masters degree.

She started out in the Triton system as a helper at Pine Grove and that is where her love for the school started. As soon as she could she got a job at Pine Grove helping out children and creating dreams.

“When [her kids] were started at school in preschool that’s when I started to consider education and seeing what an impact the teachers had on the kids, it changed me.” said Ostrowski.