Aces of Trades: School no longer playtime but still a joy for Johnstown's Brandie Peterman
JOHNSTOWN – She’s where she always wanted to be.
“I always wanted to be a teacher when I was a kid,” Brandie Peterman said. “My friends and I would play school all the time when we were younger, so working with kids every day in this capacity is like having my dream fulfilled. (I'm) only sorry it took me so long so accomplish it.”
Today, Peterman is the school librarian at Johnstown Intermediate School.
“I’ve been told it was fate because it was like I was meant to do this job all along,” she said.
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“I’ve always loved working with kids and helping them,” Peterman said. “Then I had my last child later in life and wanted to be at home as much as possible with her. So when my daughter reached kindergarten, I was told about subbing positions at Johnstown Elementary. This led to me subbing for a year before I was hired full time as a student attendant for three years. The next year JIS (Johnstown Intermediate) opened, so I applied to be the math/reading paraprofessional until literally last minute at our open house that year, (former principal Janet Smith) asked if I would like to be the librarian instead.”
Peterman was born in California before moving to central Ohio, and she graduated from Whitehall-Yearling in 1991. She moved to Johnstown and was in the insurance industry for almost 20 years.
“JIS only opened its doors last year due to the growth of Johnstown,” she said. “It’s as if all the pieces just fell into place, and I was finally where I belonged and always wanted to be.”
Smith retired last summer, and Roben Wagoner succeeded her.
“Brandie is very cognizant of students' preferences and is always on the lookout for books they will enjoy,” Smith said. “She has done a fabulous job. And Brandie does much more than her title would indicate. She also covers in the office, works arrival and dismissal and provides intervention for students. We so appreciate her.”
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Jessica Ryan is a fourth-grade teacher at JIS. All of the classes have regular half-hour periods, with Peterman in the library through the school's J-O-H-N-N-I-E scheduling.
“Brandie is so much more than a school librarian,” Ryan said. “Brandie spends countless hours outside of her contracted time. She’s willing to do anything for the students of Johnstown Intermediate, from finding books and ordering new books to encourage readers to conducting small learning groups. She’s made our library a beautiful space where our students love to learn and feel comfortable and safe. Johnstown Intermediate is lucky to have her.”
“To see the cards the students make me,” Peterman said, “or to see their smiles and tell me they love coming to the library, or how I helped them learn division back in fourth grade, to see the emails I’ve received from parents thanking me for the interaction with their child, I do feel it’s from the heart. How many people can say they have a job they look forward to and are always looking for ways to help the students more and make reading more fun and accessible?”
“There have been some bumps along the way,” she said, “but I wouldn’t trade them for anything because the road eventually led me here.”
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Newark Aces of Trades: Johnstown school librarian Brandie Peterman
