Laura Caillouet-Weiner got a little emotional on the last day of school.
After more than 40 years, she’s saying goodbye to Jefferson Elementary School.
She’ll keep teaching, but next year she’ll be moving to the new Iola Elementary School.
She’s not the only one. They’re all moving — all of the faculty and staff from Jefferson, Lincoln and McKinley elementary schools and fifth-grade staff at Iola Middle School will pack their things for the big move over the summer.
There’s a lot to prepare for. The new school will be different, with all of the district’s preschool through fifth grade students under one roof for the first time.
Each school has created its own unique family and culture; they’ll need to figure out how to combine their various traditions, attitudes and styles.
Caillouet-Weiner has been through changes before. She taught at Jefferson when it served as a kindergarten through sixth grade neighborhood elementary school, and then when it transitioned to an attendance center for first and second grades.
And sure, she’s taught in four different classrooms, but always at Jefferson. Next year will be the first time she’ll be based in a different building.
“This is my second home,” she explained with tears in her eyes, sitting on a tiny wood chair around a table in her second grade classroom.
“I’ve saved those for 40 years,” she said, pointing to a handful of the older wood chairs, much different in style from the small plastic chairs found in modern classrooms. She has those, too.
She pointed at posters all around the room. One wall was bare, and boxes filled several tables throughout the room. She’s already packing for the move to the new school, even though she’ll be teaching summer school at Jefferson over the summer. She’s not done with the building yet.
But the posters still on the wall show the philosophies she’s used in her teaching for four decades: Be respectful. Be responsible. Be trustworthy. Be kind.
She teaches her students “My School Pledge” from a poster on the wall. It says, in part: “I am here to learn all I can, to try my best and be all I am.”
And her favorite sign: “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”
She establishes those parameters with her students at the beginning of the year, and makes sure they understand the importance of each character trait — especially respect.
“That’s the beauty of being a veteran teacher. I pick my battles but I also respect the individuality of each student,” she said.
