I am entering the final weeks as Secretary at Sage Creek Elementary. I have seen hundreds of students (including my own) and many staff members come and go. It has been the perfect career for me and, as many know, my dream job. Two of my own children have entered the education field - Michael and Marti. Michael is a 4th grade teacher and Marti is working in a preschool at an elementary school (hoping to get a teaching position soon). I've seen two of the principals move on to college level teaching (both becoming deans) with the desire to increase the quality of teachers entering the teaching profession. Another Sage Creek Principal has moved on to a career in the district office that assures those in our district have the best facilities and support personnel available. The current Sage Creek Principal is dedicated to making sure our students receive the best teachers - to the point of one of them becoming a principal and another one entering a program to become a principal. I might be a little prejudice, but I believe we have some of the very best teachers at Sage Creek. I've watched four principals select, what they consider, the best teachers for the job. They haven't all agreed on all of the qualities that go into making an excellent teacher, but the qualities they all seemed to look for were: integrity, desire to continually improve, love of teaching, and a hard worker.
We have had a few teachers that have been hired on the basis of their IQ, bubbly personality, being able to quote the curriculum verbatim, salesmanship, and uniqueness. These teachers lasted for, at the most, two years and seemed more interested in themselves than teaching students how to learn. Some of our very best teachers have been those that have been your "average" student - they have been our most dedicated teachers.
There is only one thing that I feel I have failed at as I leave my "dream job" and that is I have not gained enough credibility to be able to help my daughter find her "dream job".
When I am asked, "who was your favorite principal?". It's like asking me, "which of your nine children is your favorite?" - silly questions!
Thank you Sage Creek Elementary for a fantastic 25 1/2 years!
My retirement looks more like this, in addition to the traveling and most important, "Doing what I want WHEN I want." No more trips to visit the Phoenix area in July - you get the idea? The WHEN is very important. Some days I stay up until 3:00 AM and then sleep in the next day to 10:00 AM. Some days, I don't get dressed until noon, because I have started a project and I can keep going until it's done. Of course, our funds are more limited but certain expenses have decreased drastically. I do miss the people, but I get to go to lunch most Fridays with some of them.
