School ends for the year, today, June 15, and for at least seven educators in the Harwood Unified Union School District, it’s their very last day of school as they are retiring.
We were fortunate to spend one-on-one time interviewing six of those retiring educators, Bruce Sklar, director of Harwood Union’s jazz program, Chris Rivers, director of Harwood Union music department, Katie Sullivan, third- and fourth-grade teacher at Warren Elementary, Lee Van Dine, fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Waitsfield Elementary, Tom Strasser, Harwood Union math teacher, Kate Youngdahl-Stauss, English teacher at Harwood, and Anet Hammett, kindergarten teacher at Brookside Primary School.
Each of these educators has helped make our school district unique in the state and has made all of us proud with their accomplishments. Think of Harwood’s reputation in the state high school music scene and think of the leadership shown by the school’s Harkness program and others. Consider the awards and honors these educators (and many others in the district) have received.
These are dedicated and gifted teachers who've left a permanent mark on our community, our kids and our schools. Collectively, they’ve taught over 150 years and several generations of students.
The passion they have for learning, and the genuine love, respect and admiration they have for their students is apparent and sincere. We are fortunate to have had these folks in the classrooms for this long.
There is magic that happens in schools every day in our district whether it is kids jazzed about mastering new concepts, teachers creating functioning models of rivers in their classrooms, high school students successfully conducting Socrates Cafes for their community and more.
Each educational community is a complex social organism made up of educators, administrators, custodians, parents, children, community volunteers, librarians, counselors, and more. Every member of that social organism is a contributor to the magic that happens.
Teaching is hard work. Teachers work nights and weekends and in the summer. They buy school supplies for their classrooms and students. With their fellow teachers they buy snow pants and mittens for kids who need them.
They are directly shaping the future of our country with their hands-on-minds-on work with children.
