Unified School District 418 retiring teachers and staff were honored at a reception Monday at the district’s central office.

Those retiring are Linda Bennett, Washington Elementary second-grade teacher; Fran Stucky, McPherson High School vocational teacher; Sharon Bartel, Roosevelt Elementary third-grade teacher; Marlyn Karstetter, McPherson Middle School social science and language arts teacher; and McPherson Middle School Librarian Patricia Berndt.

The teachers have a combined 127 years of teaching experience.

Click either Bartel, Karstetter, Stucky or Bennett to view their stories.

Bartel enjoyed building relationships with students

By Tracey Roberts
Staff Writer
tracey.sentinel@gmail.com

During All Schools Day, Roosevelt Elementary School third-grade teacher, Sharon Bartel, may take in the parade — but some of her time might be spent cleaning out her classroom closets.

She is retiring in May after 32 years of teaching.

“I’ve had 28 years with the school district, and four years teaching English as a second language to high school and middle school students,” she said.

“I taught mostly Vietnamese children, a couple of Burmese and a couple of Spanish, but mostly Vietnamese,” she said.

She plans on spending the summer playing with her grandchildren and maybe taking a trip or two. In the fall, she will return to Roosevelt as a reading tutor.

“It is full-time, but there is less stress involved — no lesson planning and paper grading,” Bartel said.

Recalling her years of teaching, Bartel said her real joy has come from watching a child catch on to something.

“I like to see progress with students, to help them understand,” she said. “That has been especially rewarding since we’ve had a program in place where the teacher has the student two years in a row. You can really see the progress.”

She discussed the importance of stability for students.

“These days, there may not be as much stability at home, and for some, school is where they find their stability.”

Even though she has wondered if there was something else she should be doing, she has woke up every morning glad to go to work.

“It must be my thing,” she said. “I’ve done it long enough I’ve had students of students.”
Bartel graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College and over the years has obtained enough hours to equate a master’s degree, but never had the time to acquire it.

“I have taken plenty of workshops to get the hours, but I’ve also raised four children and helped put a husband through college, so there wasn’t much time,” she said.

Her husband teaches special education at Hillsboro. Except for an occasional vacation, any big celebratory trips will most likely be postponed until they are both retired.

Karstetter leaves on an ‘upbeat’

By Greg Tammen
Assisant Editor
greg.sentinel@gmail.com

For Marlyn Karstetter, this isn’t so much a retirement as it is another transition in her academic life. Karstetter, who currently is teaching sixth-grade social studies and seventh-grade social science at McPherson Middle School, will leave USD 418 after 26 years in order to teach in Marquette.

While in Marquette, she will teach kindergarten through eighth grade, splitting her time between working part-time with special education students, grades K-8, and teaching language arts part-time to sixth-, seventh- and eighth- graders.

Karstetter said she got into teaching because of a former elementary teacher. Originally, Karstetter said, she planned on becoming a surgical nurse. However, she found no four-year colleges that offered the degree at the time.

“I knew that I wanted to be in services, and that I didn’t want to sit at a desk all day,” Karstetter said. “I really like children, so (teaching) made sense.”

“I love working with kids and in education because each day is a new day, especially with middle school kids,” Karstetter said. “I hope that I’m inspiring kids to do their best and learn to grow.”

After her time at Pittsburg State University and teaching for three years in Topeka, Karstetter and her husband, Tim, moved to McPherson on the advice of a friend.

“The first thing we did was walk down Main Street, and the people we saw were so friendly,” she said. “I was really impressed.”

Karstetter said she was equally so with the district, and, upon joining USD 418, she was the second special education teacher hired.

She said some of her best memories at USD 418 have been seeing the special education program mesh within the district’s other programs; the teaming process, wherein the teachers who taught the same grade level would combine lesson plans to create thematic teaching for that grade; being given the flexibility to work with third, sixth grade and special education students while in the district; teaching at not only the middle school, but also at Washington, Roosevelt and Wickersham; and being allowed to do job-sharing — splitting a single contract between two teachers so that one covers mornings and one covers afternoons.

Like teaching, Karstetter said teaching middle school wasn’t in her life curriculum.

“When I graduated from college, I looked very young, and going into education and looking young and being told that, I was told I might not gain the respect I needed,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would have entered middle school or beyond. After teaching elementary and special ed for many years, I was ready for a new challenge, and I found that I was ready for middle school.”

Karstetter said she learns from the kids all the time, with the biggest lesson being patience.

“Technology is also another big one,” she said. “In my eyes, I’m like an immigrant and the kids are like natives. The kids are pretty savvy on helping me out. Everything’s changing all the time, so it’s important to stay abreast through them. They help me to stay young.”

Her favorite part of teaching, though, she said, is developing one-on-one relationships with the students. Karstetter said this is one reason she expects to enjoy her time in Marquette, because the smaller class sizes will allow for a more personal environment.

“I will miss my colleagues here a lot, though,” she said. “This is a great school to teach in. I feel like I’m leaving on an upbeat, and that’s the best time to go — when everything’s going well.”

Stucky saw good in every generation

By Jonathan Shorman
Sentinel Intern
jon.sentinel@gmail.com

Retiring after 30 years of teaching, Francis Stucky will leave McPherson High School positive and hopeful about the future.

Stucky, who has taught Family and Consumer Science as well as Health Careers during her time at MHS, isn’t pessimistic about the future.

“There is good in every generation,” Stucky said.

Stucky has much experience from which to make that claim. During her career at MHS, all three of her children and four of her grandchildren have attended the high school. And during that time, Stucky said she’s seen many changes for the better.

Many of those changes have been related to the increased use and popularity of computers. For example, Stucky said they have made averaging grades and taking attendance easier, and have given teachers increased resources to assist in instruction.
“Making copies has gone from the purple, messy copying to the sleek, neat copies,” Stucky said.

Although technology has become more available, Stucky said she believed that her subject would always be needed.

“Despite all the available technology, I feel that people will always need the Family and Consumer Science skills we teach,” Stucky said. “With rising prices, money management, caring for clothing, and basic cooking are more important than ever.”
Throughout her 30 years at MHS, her core mission hasn’t changed.

“I accepted the Child Care and Development course as a challenge to help my students improve parenting in the next generation. Strong families are vital in this rapidly changing world,” Stucky said.

Interacting with young people and working in a positive environment with “great professionals” topped Stucky’s list of things she’s enjoyed in education.

Stucky’s immediate plans after she retires includes helping with a Bible class and teaching a cooking class at the YMCA. More broadly, Stucky said her future plans include farming and fishing with her husband, Jim, as well as visiting children and grandchildren and traveling.

Bennett shared love of math in her 39 years of teaching

By Jonathan Shorman
Sentinel Intern
jon.sentinel@gmail.com

For Linda Bennett, the end of school this year means the end of grading tests, answering questions and supervising recess.

After 39 years of teaching, Bennett is retiring. She taught two years in Oklahoma and five years in Olathe, before coming to Washington Elementary, where she has taught second grade for 32 years.

Along the way, Bennett’s been fueled by the energy she sees in her students.
“They come in and they’re excited about learning and they’re just a pleasing group to be with,” Bennett said.

Although Bennett enjoys many things about teaching, inspiring students to share her love of math ranks at the top.

“Sometimes math is hard for students, so for them to enjoy it is a reward for me,” Bennett said.

After retiring, Bennett plans to travel and spend time with her children and grandchildren, who reside in California and Arizona. This includes a one-month-old granddaughter which Bennett has not yet been able to see.

Bennett also hinted that she might not be done with education, though.
“And I may sneak back into school and do something,” Bennett said.