June 8, 2007

Campbell Union School District holds send off for retirees

Teachers, principals, classified employees feted

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

The flowers were all in bloom in the Ainsley House gardens as 160 friends and co-workers gathered to say goodbye to 12 teachers, administrators and secretaries who are retiring from the Campbell Union School District.

The retirees gathered for one last group shot. Standing in front are Bette Joe and Margaret Schraft. Behind them are, from the left, Carol Whitaker, Lee Pennington, Carol Radke, Kathi Woods, Nancy Atkinson, Jane Duff and Debbie Reeves. Photo by Carol Rosen

The honorees were easily spotted by the beautiful corsages they wore at the June 6 ceremony. After a brief period of hors d’oeurves and refreshments, Superintendent Dr. Johanna Vander Molen welcomed a guest list of 160 people and thanked all the retirees for their efforts and all the time they put in to make their work extra special.

The program began with special performances by the Monroe Middle School Singers—Kelsey Shaw, Lilibeth Aguada, Anthonela Zegarra, Makaela Evans, Riffany Hsieh and Scarlett Fortin. They were followed by the Moreland Singers from Campbell’s sister district, who performed under Ruth Mathewson in honor of retiree Carol Radke.

VanderMolen then entertained the group with first grade sayings for those retiring:

“You can’t teach an old dog new math;”
“If you lie with dogs, you stink in the morning;”
“If at first you don’t succeed, get new batteries;” and
“Better late than pregnant.”

Each retiree was then welcomed with a small discussion of their career and given gifts in honor of their work and the extensive amount of time each gave to their jobs.

Nancy Atkinson, who will retire as principal of Capri School has been with the district for 37 years. She began her career with a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan and worked as a special education, history and English teacher at Campbell Junior High, Hazelwood and Monroe Middle Schools before becoming a principal at Forrest Hill and Rolling Hills and ending her career by helping consolidate Capri and Hazelwood Elementary Schools. This year she received the principal of the year designation for Region 8.

Jane Duff joined Campbell Union in 1986 as a PE teacher. She has worked at Marshall Lane, Fisher and Rolling Hills Middle Schools. She said she will most miss teaching sports and fitness as well as helping each child to find his or her own special talents.

Bette Joe started her career at Campbell Union as a parent volunteer in 1974 and has been working at the district offices since 1980. She too has worked hard during her career in the district’s administration and business offices.

Lee Pennington came to the district in 2000 as an accounting technician. She plans to do yoga, join a group at her church and hang out with her granddaughter. The district will miss her spark and her caring attitude, according to officials.

Carol Radke (See story) joined Campbell Union in 1970 and has taught various grades throughout her career. She told the group she will miss her “relationships with my students, parents and the outstanding community of teachers I have worked with.” Radke and her husband have bought a home near Manteca where she will enjoy her hobbies of bass fishing and dancing.

Debra Reeves is a problem solver, never complains and is always up to the challenge of scheduling prep periods. She’s been with Campbell Union since 1991 and excels at working with students.

Margaret Schraft joined the district in 1969 as a teacher and is finishing her career at Castlemont. A special teacher, her colleagues note that she goes the extra mile and has a strong enthusiasm for learning. One of her retirement goals is to help build homes with Habitat for Humanity.

The district has enjoyed the secretarial talents of Carol Whittaker since 1985. She is finishing her career at Campbell Middle School. She began working for the district as a parent volunteer and them became an aide in the office and worked her way up through attendance clerk up to school secretary. She’s a real bulldog [the school mascot], and there’s nothing she can’t fix, said her colleagues at Campbell Middle School.

Kathi Woods, who looks like a student herself, has been a district teacher since 1968. She is finishing her career at Rolling Hills Middle School where she has taught for 20 years where she especially enjoys teaching her fifth graders because she likes the curriculum almost as much as she likes her students.

Traveling is on her schedule for the next several months including spending summer in the mountains around Lake Tahoe, a river cruise through Germany and a week in Maui. She also said she would finally get to work on all the hobbies she started but has never finished including scrapbooking, gardening and knitting.

Three employees were unable to attend the retirement party. Gwyneth Heil has been with Campbell Union since 1986 and will retire as assistant superintendent of instruction. Barbara Hartson joined the district in 1985 and is finishing her career as a secretary for the student services at the district level. Maria Howard has been with the district since 1984 and leaves as a secretary for instruction and student services.