A long time ago, in September of 1973, I got off the bus upon arrival at Golden Brook School. It was a nervous time, this first day of school. Alice Sandburg, my first grade teacher came forward and took me by the hand. She escorted me to the prearranged station for the incoming first graders. She stayed close as she guided her newly formed flock into the building. You see, Mrs. Sandburg already knew me. She had my sister, Kristan, three years before, and even taught my dad in her sixth grade class in the fall of 1945. Alice’s husband owned the local bowling alley (Sandy’s) now known as Park Place Lanes. She sat in the pew at our church in the center of town right alongside of my family. In second grade, I had Mrs. Mackey, her husband was our fire chief. 4th grade was Mrs. Traynor, we hayed her field (Edgewood Rd.). Sixth grade was Irene Herbert, she and her husband ran the farm where the Windham Country Club is now. She and her husband Ed, invited the scouts to have jamborees and visit Butterfield Rock. Ed was the first scoutmaster in town and my dad was in his troop. Seventh grade Wendy Deneen moved to town and taught me western civilization. She later came to help me on our farm greeting all the families she knows and loves with a cone. (I love you Wendy!!!) Here is my point. The teachers in Windham have always been at the heart of our community and with their commitment to our children have created community and cohesion in our town. Treated with respect, they have taught us all respect. And this feeling of community has given our Rural Oasis the allure that has brought countless new families to come and settle. Teachers are much more than mere employees. They are our foundation and the key to our future. Spending more time with teachers than with their own families, it isn’t brain surgery, to see that our children need the very best in order to achieve success and live in the relative comfort that we have enjoyed here in town. Today, we have the teachers in place, they work as team, love each other, our children and our town. They are in the 4th year without a contract. This is neither the recipe for keeping the best teachers in our schools, nor is it a welcome map for bringing quality educators to Windham. My children are now the fourth generation of Johnson’s in the Windham School District. Let’s continue the tradition of community and education for yet another generation in our beloved town.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 01:19:24 +0000
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