My former student, Jason Lake,
posted this on Facebook.
It made me smile...then cry.
These are the FaBuLoUs
SCRATCH & SNIFF STICKERS!!!
(except for that skunk one)
These reminded me of how great teaching was!
I LOVED IT!!!
For my 33 year teaching career...it was great,
until about the last 4 years.
Even the class I taught that had seven Satanic worshipers,
I was surrounded by the best people to help me!
I had so many wonderful friends on the faculty!
I taught with the majority of them for 20-30 years!
When I was endowed 18 years ago (today) at the Provo Temple,
most of the people in my session were my "Faculty Family!"
My escorts were Ann Searle and Jane Boulter.
If they couldn't come to the temple, they joined us at the luncheon.
We taught the Utah Core, and made the BEST memories for the kids!
There was 3 days in the spring for testing.
We reviewed as a team, but the testing was not the
emphasis for the entire year!
Not one student has ever come back and said,
"Thanks for getting me ready for testing!"
It was the activities we did, and how I made them feel!
Many would come back and visit, saying,
"Thanks for getting me ready for junior high."
"Thanks for teaching me to be responsible."
"Thanks for teaching me to be organized."
"Thanks for teaching me how to study."
"Thanks for teaching me to love school."
Some years, my kids did fabulous on the tests...there were several
years where every child or 90% of my kids passed the 80% mastery!
The years I had the hard and low kids, the tests reflected that.
But those times, in the last 4 years, I was really put down
and ridiculed for my test results...even having the District testing person
review it on a big screen in front of my team and principal.
Some results were hard to understand.
I had several kids get 99% in 4th grade. But, because they got 94% or 95%
in 5th grade, there was no growth, and I was penalized!
It's not just mastering the skills anymore,
it's test scores and growth!
I feel bad for the kids today!
One of those 99%er to 97% in my class...I saw her mom at the pool.
She's in 7th grade now, and HATES school.
She said in every class, it's all about testing! That's all the teachers
say is, "I've got to get you ready for the testing!" She said there's
no allowance for creativity!
I don't know what my CRT scores were last year . . .
but, I do know my DWA (Direct Writing Assessment) test scores . . .
AND THEY WERE FABULOUS!
The test was on the 6 Traits of writing.
This is a state wide test they take 3 times in their school career . . . elementary,
middle school, and high school.
You had to have a score of 18 to pass, and 30 was the highest.
EVERY ONE OF MY STUDENTS PASSED!
No one got lower that 20...and 5 of my students
RECEIVED A PERFECT SCORE OF 30!!!
What a way to go out!!!
My second to last principal, David Stephenson, was just the BEST!
He really made you feel great!!!
He was from Nephi, and actually mowed my grandma's lawn when he was young.
He would always tell me how wonderful I was, and helped me soooo much
when I had 2 classes that had 80% hard kids!
He not only made the kids feel loved, but the faculty as well!
David always treated me with dignity and respect!
My last four years were hard!
The total emphasis now is on testing and the Common Core.
I would always get "Parent Requests" of the "hard" boys, and low kids!
I even had two go to the Behavior Unit in the District!
(9 weeks)
If we traded students, my teammates would sometimes send back the hard kids.
The parent requests were always lopsided!
Some teammates would get all the smart kids, or all the nice kids.
This last year also, was my hardest year as an AEA rep, too!
One by one, my best friends retired, or left me (went with David).
My last year, there was just Don, Nancy, and Lori to really go to.
Younger teachers came in and "took over," not caring about the
tradition that we had at Alpine Elementary, and had worked sooo hard to maintain.
(As a comparison, John Stockton in his autobiography, said the
same thing about the young players coming in in his last years,
taking over, and losing traditions!)
We had several teachers leave Alpine, then return:
Linda Dibb, Carolyn Hutchings, Jill Hertig, Lori Chadwick,
Cheryl Dominguez, Cathy Tibbitts.
That's the kind of school we used to be!!!
Alpine Elementary had the reputation in the district as being one
of the best schools to be at!!! Many teachers in the District tried
to transfer to be at our school!
Hundreds of people would always comment on the
"Warm Fuzzies" they always felt at Alpine Elementary!
We were a"family first!"
That feeling then spread to the students, parents, and community.
It was hard to have that feeling leave our school,
after having it for 29 years!
I had heard that you would know when you wanted to retire.
I knew EXACTLY when and where I was!
I was at a math Common Core training, Friday, April 12, 2013.
I had made sub plans the day before...which is hard to get ready from
a wheelchair.
The last few summers, we had to go to several trainings
and collaboration days.
We were paid, but it wasn't the same as having time to spend
in the summer how you wanted.
I had just finished writing in my planner:
Science training the day after school got out,
three days of Common Core training the next Monday-Wednesday,
Clear Creek ropes course recertification the next Monday,
then team collaboration...and June was more than half taken up with school.
Of course, most of August is working at school,
(and doing Clear Creek orders)
before it started on August 21.
And...I was in a wheelchair!
I was sitting next to Kindra Reid. We became fabulous friends
at the Colonial America Teacher Institute the summer before.
She had had 5 heel surgeries.
Matt and Condita were there, too.
I heard a "pop" and Kindra said NOOOO!
Her surgery on her heel had popped open!
Dr. Ridge said if I continued to teach, I would not heal!
After seeing Kindra's agony, and knowing my situation,
I leaned over to Kindra, and said, "I'm done...I'm done teaching!!!"
I had a meeting the following Monday with Trudy Clark at the District Office
about retiring. I knew I would have 6 years health insurance,
but my biggest concern was between ages 61-65 before Medicare kicks in.
She was sooo kind! Everything was all figured out.
After the 6 years, I will go on Cobra for 18 months, and pay about $520 a month.
Then, I can be put back on EMI Health for 2 1/2 years for about $20 more
a month than Cobra.
I also received a stipend, which was about 2.7% X 33 years teaching!
(I can't touch it till age 59)
The stipend is only for those who were hired before 1990!
YIPPEEEEEE!!!
Because I had missed the retirement deadline, I was still able to retire because I
had 33 consecutive years in the district, and I had a doctor's note.
The AEA president told me not to sign anything until
he had looked over it.
When he did, he said "Happy Retirement!"
And...I've enjoyed saying, "Retired at 54!!!"
One of the reasons I knew I had made the right decision to retire, was seeing a picture on
Facebook last August. It was of my former team, (the guy that replaced me took it.)
They were at the Alpine Slide in Park City.
My 3 teammates (one went to 1st grade after 2 years)
were on a chair lift, with the caption,
"The Dream Team that Never Happened!"
That told me that I was not wanted...since those 3 WERE together,
for 2 years, plus me!
I know I made the right decision, and was at peace with it.
Very few on the faculty knew I was retiring until after the kids left
on the last day.
None of my students knew. My students were so good to help me with my wheelchair!
I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of kids to help me while
being in a wheelchair!!
I hope to have an open house, to have some closure...but another
change...they have cut the "Sunshine Fund" in half!
So...there's probably no money to have one, unless another teacher retires,
and our open houses are combined.
Well, this is quite a lengthy post, when it was supposed to
just be about the stickers.
Many of my teacher friends that are still at Alpine keep telling me how lucky I am to be retired...school is harder than ever!
My friends at Traverse Mountain (those who went with David)
are really struggling! After 3 years, he is now assistant superintendent!
He's over the Orem elementary schools.
They are all having David Withdrawls!"
Well, the stickers just gave me warm fuzzies about
how great it was to teach at Alpine Elementary!!!
via kidzworld.com 
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via commons.wikimedia.org 
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via mormonnewsroom.org 
Governor Gary R. Herbert has named Wesley Smith as director of state and federal relations. 
