By Joanna Domson

Sentry Staff Reporter

Next year four members of the teaching staff will no longer be walking through these halls.  The Special Education Department is saying goodbye to Reading Specialist Beverly Greenblatt, Instructional Studies Teacher Neesa Hoskin and English and History Resource Teacher Kathy Schiemer.  The English Department will also be bidding farewell to the Department Chair and 12th grade English Teacher Diana Russell.

Retiring is a big, and generally melancholy, decision to make.  Memories of colleagues and students seem to rush back as a career comes to a close.  Some teachers have comfortably chosen to retire, while still reminiscing about the early days of their career. Others weighed a multitude of pros and cons and finally decided that now is the time to retire. Greenblatt is a part of the former group.

“I’ve done the whole game and I’m just ready,” said Greenblatt. “It’s time for the next chapter and I’m really excited about the next chapter.”

One consideration to make when retiring is timing.  It is important to consider the circumstances of colleagues and your own career when deciding to retire.  Russell kept all of these in mind when deciding to retire.

“I decided to retire last summer, when I knew that I still enjoyed teaching school, and that I wanted to leave with the same mindset, as I started in 1971,” said Russell.

In some cases, teachers have something to retire for, which is the case for Scheimer.

“I’ve been in education a long time, several school systems, and I’m of age and I‘m going to be a grandmother…so I welcome the opportunity to be a grandmother,” said Schiemer.

The school taken leaps and bounds over the past couple decades and the retiring teachers have experienced firsthand these changes.  They have dealt with the changing teaching styles and changing technology.  Some have even taught through the changes that came with the attack on September 11th, 2001.  Ms. Greenblatt recalls the changes in students and protocol that came with that day.

“From that day on [September 11th] all of you were allowed to bring your cell phones in to school, and that was the day that made it a lot more difficult to teach,” said Greenblatt.

Another change they experienced was the evolution of the building.  These teachers started in the old building and watched the foundation of a new building progress.  They moved out of one building and into another.  They watched trailers and rooms come and go.

“Watching that building be demolished as they are building everything and just seeing the whole building change,” said Greenblatt about the memories she has about the school, “one thing that has remained, which just warms my heart, is that huge tree outside of Dr. Pasi’s office…no matter what trailers came or what bulldozers came, that tree remains.”

The memories that stick the most are those of the people.  Many teachers cite the students and staff as the best things that they will take away from their time as a teacher.  As high school teachers these women take children at their most malleable and mold them into thoughtful and driven young adults.

“I started teaching pre school, I never thought I would be teaching high school, but I appreciate the fact that I can carry on a good conversation with young adults,” said Hoskin.

“I look around the walls of my classroom, and I recollect – what a wonderful and rich journey I have had as a teacher.  I cherish the photos my students have given me, however the most valuable memory is the ongoing challenges that I am faced with every day I step into the classroom,” said Russell.

Certainly working with the same staff for many years warrants the creation of good friends.  The staff here is exceptionally friendly and many retirees say that leaving friends may be the hardest part.

“There are so many things about Yorktown that I love, a great collaborative staff, people willing to pull together to help all kinds of kids,” said Schiemer.

Although the school may be losing several inspiring and hardworking teachers, the Department Chair for Special Education, Jasmine Welgoss, has had the opportunity to work on hiring someone to replace the retiring Special Education teachers.

“We are in the process of hiring one new teacher to replace the retiring teachers,” said Welgoss, “it has been hard, Special Ed is actually transforming a bit because our self contained teachers actually have to be certified in the specific content area.”

“This year we have had a lot of very good applicants for the vacancies, so I think we have some very good new hires for next year,” said our Principal, Dr. Raymond Pasi.

As a community we will dearly miss these teachers that are starting new chapter in their lives.  We wish them the best in their new endeavors and ask that they return and encourage us.

“Each of them are hard working, very interested in students, a pleasure to work with and to know; and they will be missed,” said Pasi.

“My advice would be to enjoy yourselves, do something you love to do and come back and visit,” said Welgoss.

Featured Image by Spencer Croft