It was probably hard to tell who was more excited for the first day of school in Gina Storrer’s third grade class — the teacher or the students. STORRER, 43, sees herself as better equipped to be a teacher now that she’s worked in other jobs and experienced being a parent.
Naturally bubbly, Storrer was overflowing with enthusiasm Tuesday morning in preparation for today’s kick-off of the school year.
You see, she’s waited more than 20 years for this day.
“It feels so wonderful to be doing something I’m passionate about. I feel so young! I haven’t talked about any of these things — reading, writing, math — since I was in college. And now, finally, they are my life.”
Born and raised in Iola, Gina Cline Storrer graduated from Iola High School in 1990. She received a degree in elementary education from Kansas State University in 1994, doing her student teaching under Barb Hafer, now retired from Jefferson Elementary.
But after graduation Storrer took a different path, spending many years working for the state of Kansas first with its department of social services and then its department of health.
“I was open-minded to different careers. It was a good opportunity,” she said.
She also was newly married to Robert Storrer and within a couple of years started a family. Their children are Colten, 19, who works at the county quarry for Allen County’s public works department, and Brooklyn, 16, a junior at IHS.
“Almost an empty-nester,” Storrer said she began substitute teaching in Humboldt and Iola schools last year to test the waters.
“I fell in love with it all over again,” she said, leading her to renew her teacher’s certificate.
Storrer said the market for substitute teaching is healthy enough to keep anyone as busy as they want.
“I was kept very busy and I loved the flexibility, but there was a downside, too. I never saw the end results of any of the projects I was helping with and I never got to see the day-to-day growth in my students,” she said.
Storrer wanted more than a snapshot, she wanted the whole picture.
Her years in social services “gave me a unique opportunity to work with families,” in varied circumstances, she said. Responsibilities included determining the financial eligibility for food stamps, cash assistance and medical assistance.
For the department of health, she worked as a consultant overseeing the licensing of childcare centers across 14 counties, a position that required “a lot of traveling,” she said.
Those experiences helped deepen her understanding of people and their varied circumstances.
As a teacher, it makes her feel determined that each of her students “deserves to experience a little success every day,” she said.
Between the expected curriculum and her own enthusiasm for teaching, Storrer said “somewhere in the middle I hope to be able to deliver the excitement about learning.”
Storrer cites teachers from her own youth — Marilyn Brown, Marvin Smith, Kit McGuffin, Donna Houser, Bill Shirley and Dixie Quincy — who, in her view, have created a “legacy of excellence” for education.
“Who wouldn’t want to be part of that legacy?” she asked.
Clearly, Storrer is ready to make her mark.
New teacher waits 20 years to get behind desk
