The “red chair” in Patti Tycenski’s office was a safe space open to any member of the Poly Prep community. It was a spot where “kids could have mental breakdowns, where adults took naps,” shared Health Teacher Phoebe Aberlin-Ruiz .
Alumna Rema Hort was one of the many students who found solace there. “On my first day of sixth grade Ms. Ty found me crying,” shared Hort. “She had to carry me up a flight of stairs into the ‘red chair.” There, Tycenski explained “everything [would] be okay…and that she would help me.” From then on, Hort spent nearly every day in the chair and even painted Tycenski a picture of it as a ‘thank you.’ “She was one of the most important teachers I’ve ever had.”
Tycenski passed away last September, but her legacy lives on. On the one-year anniversary of her passing, members of the community reflected on her lasting impact.
Tycenski, better known as Ms. Ty, joined Poly in 1995. She began her career by running the fitness facility and teaching health. She did “a great job supervising kids, teaching health and fitness and making [the fitness center] accessible for a lot of open workout time,” said Coach Steve Andersen in a 1997 interview with The Polygon. Tycenski became a fifth and sixth grade dean in 2001, until she transitioned to exclusively teaching health in 2017.
Tycenski met her students with ingenuity, joy and unconditional love. She was always “looking to do something for the community…and also to get kids involved,” shared Girls’ Basketball Coach and Fitness Instructor Michael Junsch.
“All the [field] trips we [took] were a result of her master organizational skills that made [working with] the sixth grade so much fun,” recalled Aberlin. In 2004, Tycenski organized a trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where sixth graders spent the night sleeping on the museum floor.
Since Tycenski was pregnant, faculty members encouraged her to sleep at home. “She could not possibly be thinking of sleeping on the floor,” said History Teacher Caesar Fabella. “But true to her nature…she insisted,” even if it meant sacrificing her comfort.
Tycenski valued student growth above all else. “She loved the rascal kids…and helping them grow into everything she saw them to be that they couldn’t see in themselves,” recalled Aberlin. Hort particularly struggled with the transition into middle school. “It was just so overwhelming,” she said. Tycenski became Hort’s primary support system. “She got me through it. She taught me how to be a good student.”
Throughout her 29 years at Poly, Tycenski kept a tradition of exchanging rubber ducks with students. They gifted her ducks, and she “gave each of her homeroom students a ‘birthday duck’ and themed ducks on special holidays,” according to The Polygon. Tycenski valued connecting with every student. “She loved being around her kids, and they loved being around her,” shared Junsch.
Tycenski was also an integral part of the faculty community. She was “the first to volunteer to help with anything,” described Aberlin.
For years, Head of the Middle School — then music director — Daniel Doughty, Tycenski, and Ann McCartney, former dean and history teacher, prepared the fifth graders to sing the ‘Poly Song’ to the seniors in May. On the day of the 2013 performance, Doughty realized he had forgotten to teach the song. After receiving frantic texts from Doughty, Tycenski quickly stepped in. “No problem. We got it covered,” he remembered her saying. The three ran around the school teaching the song minutes before the assembly began. “She was just that kind of person who would drop everything and help out,” reflected Doughty.
Tycenski was also a friend to all her co-workers. “On her way to and from school, we would spend hours on the phone talking about life at Poly, sharing advice and catching up about our families,” wrote Math Teacher Sabina Laricchia-Moroney in an email. “Every morning she talked to her daughter in the office…I was privy to a lot of those conversations, which informed a lot of what I did as a mom,” mentioned Aberlin. “And [my daughter] really did think of her as a second mom.”
In summer 2025, Laricchia, Doughty and McCartney created a Middle School award in Tycenski’s name. It celebrates “the grade eight student who has made remarkable progress during their time in Middle School,” according to the award description.
The description emphasizes that the growth could be academic, social, or personal. “We thought it was important to make that distinction…because [Tycenski] cared about the whole person,” shared Doughty. “It wasn’t just about kids getting A’s, it was about kids getting the best grade they could get or just being the best person they could be.”
Poly will forever miss Patti Tycenski’s presence. “There will always be a void in my heart, but I take comfort in knowing she will always be my guardian angel,” shared Laricchia in an email.
