|
At the end of May, four people are
retiring after working in District 27 for many years. Together these
four have more than 100 years with the district. Some have even
taught two generations of families.
Those retiring from District 27 at the end of the school year are
Gretchen Boehme, Kay Ebelherr, Tammy Dietrich and Sherri Sparrow.
Tina Workman, who retired in 2023 after many years of teaching in
the district said, “Working with the teachers at LJHS for the
betterment of our students has been a real blessing for me
throughout my many years of teaching in Lincoln Elementary School
District #27. Our team of educators, including those retiring this
year, always provided me with a real feeling of strength in unity in
teamwork and collaboration, and when there is teamwork and
collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved for our students.”
As Workman said, “these retiring teachers, as all teachers, are
important contributors to society. They pass on knowledge, foster
critical thinking skills, inspire students and parents, and they
serve as positive role models that will empower our students to
succeed in life.”
The Four Retirees
Gretchen Boehme teaches sixth grade
reading at Lincoln Junior High School. She said, “I started teaching
in 1989, the year that I graduated from U of I in Champaign-Urbana,
so [I have taught] 36 years.
The first teaching job for Boehme was teaching fifth and sixth grade
in Girard, Illinois.
After Girard, Boehme moved to Lincoln to teach. She said, “I have
taught in District 27 for 31 years. I (now) teach 6th grade Reading
at LJHS. I taught 6th grade at Northwest until the new Jr. High was
built, [and] then I moved to the new building along with all 6th
graders and their teachers.
Throughout the years, Boehme said technology has changed
tremendously throughout my teaching career. Adjusting to changes in
technology expectations has been, and continues to be (with AI), the
biggest challenge.
My favorite memories from teaching [occur] when students from the
past come to visit, many times with their 6th graders that will be
in my class for the year! Students of students! I love to see how
they have changed and become successful.
My advice for new teachers: listen to the wisdom of older teachers,
learn from them. Try new ideas! I plan to spend quality time with
family when I retire.
Kay Ebelherr has been working in
the education field for 34 years. Her first four years were at LCHS
and the last 30 years at District #27.
Throughout the years, Ebelherr has always been a Speech-Language
Pathologist.
When asked how expectations for speech therapists have changed since
she began working in the field of education, Ebelherr said
Speech-Language Pathologists provide services for a wide variety of
skills and feels that the areas that we need to have expertise in
have increased.
As Ebelherr said, “not only are SLPs servicing students with speech
and language delays, but also students with greater communication
needs, such as social communication skills for students with autism
or communication devices for students who are nonverbal.” Therefore,
she believes we need to continually keep pace with new strategies
and technology to help our students become more successful
communicators.
For Ebelherr, the best part of being a school SLP is building
relationships with my students and watching them make progress
towards their goals. She said, “I typically work with my students
for several years, so I am able to watch their growth as an
individual and as a communicator.”
One memory that sticks out is that
I got to watch a former student, who had worked hard for many years
on improving his speech, sing the National Anthem beautifully at a
high school ball game!
Ebelherr said, as I have been packing up some of my things, I have
found letters/notes that students have written to me telling me how
much they loved Speech and thanking me for helping them learn new
sounds. Those I cherish!
When faced with challenges, Ebelherr said, “I feel very fortunate to
have worked with a fantastic team of Speech-Language Pathologists at
District #27. It has helped immensely to have supportive co-workers
in my field to bounce ideas off of, to ask questions to, and to
share ideas, materials and strategies.
The advice Ebelherr would give to educators just starting their
career is “Building relationships with your students is key, as well
as keeping learning engaging.”
After retirement, Ebelherr’s plans include traveling, doing some
home renovations, reading, and spending time with family.
Retiring teacher Tammy Dietrich
said, “I've worked in education for 33 years since graduating from U
of I. Before that I worked for a couple of years at an environmental
education camp.”
[to top of second column] |
This year Dietrich is finishing
up year 32 in District 27. She said, “twelve of the years were
as Miss Barcalow; the rest of the years were as Mrs. Dietrich.”
With working so long for the district, Dietrich said, “I've
taught some of my students' parents!”
Dietrich taught 4th grade for 30 years at Northwest School. For
the past two years, she said, “I have taught STEAM (Science
Technology Engineering Art and Math). As a STEAM teacher,
Dietrich has worked with students at Northwest, Central and
Washington Monroe.
Since Dietrich began working in the field of education, she
said, “expectations for teachers have shifted over the years.
First, there is a much bigger emphasis on standardized testing.
Now it seems there is more pressure to track every standard than
to inspire a love of learning.”
There is also more emphasis on having social media worthy
classrooms. Dietrich said, “newer teachers often want everything
brand-new and coordinated, while veteran teachers were perfectly
happy with hand-me-down supplies and materials and a filing
cabinet that had seen better days.”
Three highlights come to mind for Dietrich when she reflects
upon her years of teaching. First, Dietrich said, “in a graduate
class in 1999, I helped to create the assessment part of the new
Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex curriculum for the Field Museum. Since
I piloted the curriculum and assessment in my class, Dr. Kidd
allowed me to raise the funds to take my fourth graders on a
field trip to see Sue in Chicago. While we were there, Sue
Hendrickson and her dog who made the actual discovery happened
to be there too.”
A second highlight for Dietrich was in 2021, when she wrote an
essay persuading an author and illustrator to visit Northwest
School. A few weeks later, my essay was chosen. A year later on
Halloween, Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr, their four children
and dog arrived on the Busload of Books. They went Trick or
Treating with my family and presented assemblies at the school
the next day. Every student in the school received a hardback
copy of one of their books. Before the end of the year, every
student also received a Build a Bear from one of the Busload's
sponsors. I am still in touch with Matthew and Robbi.
The third highlight happened this
school year, Dietrich said, “while teaching STEAM I was presented
with the opportunity to have my fifth graders participate in a
KidWind competition after they had spent a week creating model wind
turbine blades. The first year, my teams did extremely well
competing against junior high students. This year one of my teams
qualified to attend the KidWind World competition!”
It may be tempting to use up sick days each year, but it is well
worth saving them for maternity/paternity time and for early
retirement!
One of the first things Dietrich wants to do when she retires is to
go into Indigo Quilt Studio and learn how to use the long arm
machine so she can complete the quilts she has plans to piece. She
said, “one of the quilts will use the shirts I have collected while
teaching. I also have quite a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects) to
complete.”
Dietrich’s son just turned 15 so along with finally being a "Stay at
Home Mom,", she said, “I'll be a full time ‘Taxi Mom.’ I'm looking
forward to going to all of his activities on time without worrying
about what I need to get done for school.”
Dietrich said, ‘I'm not planning to leave education entirely. For
now, I plan to do substitute teaching for a while. In addition, I'm
hoping to be a STEM facilitator for missions and STEM challenges at
the Challenger Learning Center at Heartland. I'll also be serving on
the LCHS school board.”
Retiring teacher Sherri Sparrow has
been teaching for 35 years and all of the years have been in
District 27.
Currently, Sparrow is teaching 8th grade P.E., as she has been doing
for the last 2 years. Over the years, she has also taught 7th and
8th grade health, study skills, and keyboarding. Sparrow said, “I
have coached every sport except softball.”
As far as changes Sparrow has seen during her time in education, she
said, “teaching methods today allow students to play a more active
role in their learning. The access to using technology in the
classroom has changed dramatically.”
One of the highlights Sparrow found as she taught was being able to
teach her son and daughter.
In reference to the challenges Sparrow has faced in education, she
said, “ COVID was definitely a challenge. It has had long lasting
effects on Education.
For teachers who are just beginning their career, Sparrow said, “get
to know your students. Take an interest in their lives. Don't be
afraid to ask for help. Never give up. Teaching can be challenging,
but also rewarding. Make it fun: Where students enjoy coming to
class. Embrace technology.”
Sparrow is excited to see what retirement brings. She said.
"I am an open book, starting a new Chapter. I will enjoy more pool
time during the warmer months since I will have extra time now to
get things done year round.... [and] of course sleep in whenever I
feel like it.”
Fellow retiree Workman congratulates the District 27 ‘soon to be’
retirees for their dedication to education and making a positive and
remarkable difference in the lives of so many students over the
course of their many years in the field of education. She said their
dedication to teaching has left an indelible and immeasurable mark
on our young people.
Workman said, “congratulations on your retirement, and may your next
chapter be filled with much joy and fulfillment.” LDN adds it
congratulations and wishes these retiring educators well as they
begin a much deserved retirement.
[Angela Reiners]
|
