Ida Elementary kindergarten teacher retiring after 22 years in district
The last day of school was bittersweet for Ida kindergarten teacher, Sherry Locke, and her teaching assistant, Carolyn Clark.
Locke is retiring after almost 22 years in the school district, and Clark is retiring after 25 years as a teaching assistant. The pair have been in the same classroom together for the past decade.
"I will miss this terribly," Locke said.
The walls of Locke's classroom were bare, and Locke wore a shirt emblazoned with the words "Bye bye lesson plans, hello sun tan" as she sang along with her students.
On the final day of school, Ida's five kindergarten classes rotate among their teachers. The school's two young five classes also took turns visiting with the kindergarten instructors to get a glimpse of what things will be like for them next year.
“I had your brothers and sister,” Locke would tell the kids from the young fives. “(And) I know your parents.”
Locke and Clark have been involved with Ida Public Schools for 30 years, first meeting when they got involved with the district's PTA.
Locke was a teacher in two other states before moving to Ida 34 years ago, where she raised her family.
“I became a kindergarten teacher here at Ida 21.9 years ago,” she said.
The two educators have worked under six different elementary principals and five superintendents during their time at Ida.
“We raised a lot of kids here at Ida,” they said.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Ida Elementary kindergarten teacher retiring after decades
