What are the stories behind the faces we see in the retirement slideshow? We know the teachers; we have taken their tests and come to their class day after day, but we only know what we can gather from the teachers in the four years we are in school.
MR. JOHNSON
English and Speech teacher Steve Johnson has been teaching at Ottawa for 33 years. Johnson has taught sophomore English and coached tennis for the entirety of his teaching career. He has also taught speech for the last 25 years. Johnson majored in communications and speech at Augustana University where he found a liking for tennis; “I was serviceable,” Johnson said.
MR. FRANCIS
Math teacher Kevin Francis has dedicated years of his life to teaching the subject that few dare to conquer: math. Francis is the current Geometry, Algebra II and Pre-Calculus teacher, but he has also taught Algebra I, Algebra A, Honors Algebra II, and all the algebra you can think of – he clearly has a specialty. Francis has run the mathlete competitions, which have given gracious amounts of extra credit to math students. Francis used to be an actuary but didn’t feel it was a good fit. “I enjoy math, explaining math, so I figured I’d make a good teacher,” Francis said. As far as retirement goes, Francis is looking forward to fixing his garage.
MR. SWORDS
Math teacher Trent Swords has been teaching at Ottawa for 33 years and is currently teaching Geometry and AP Calculus. In the past, Swords has also taught Algebra I, Algebra A and B, Math Essentials, Accelerated Pre-Calc and Integrated Math (and that’s only some). Swords found his way to teaching when his university offered tutoring positions at a high school, and Swords found that he was good at tutoring and enjoyed it. He has coached football, boys basketball and track.
MRS. SWORDS
Senior counselor Kim Swords has been guiding the futures of students for 33 years. She majored in psychology and found a passion for learning about people. “I really love helping people,” Swords said, “I needed a job where I’d be around people.” Swords continued her schooling to obtain her master’s in school counseling. She didn’t see her counselor enough when she was in high school and hoped to be the opposite. Her only wish for her retirement is to find herself lying on a beach.
MR. BURDEN
History teacher Eric Burden has taught at Ottawa for 33 years. He is currently teaching Sociology and U.S. History. In the past, he has taught World History, Government, A.P. U.S. History and Advanced World History. Burden began as an assistant wrestling coach and has been the Chess and Scholastic coach for the majority of his time teaching. Teachers from his own schooling and “a desire to give something back to my community and country as a teacher,” Burden said are his inspiration for teaching. Burden is actively looking forward to having no obligations and no schedule for his retirement. “I want to be able to go wherever the day takes me,” Burden said.
MRS. PEARSON
Chief Financial Officer Janet Pearson came to Ottawa High in November of 2014 after being a certified public accountant (CPA) for 20 years. Pearson found her way to our school due to her skills as a CPA, which made her a natural school auditor. “It’s my niche. Hardly anyone knows this job, so there are few around who know how to do it,” Pearson said. Pearson’s plans for retirement are to spend time with her grandchildren and to use her special skills to help other schools from time to time.
MR. ANDREWS
Strength and Driver’s Ed teacher Mark Andrews has spent his entire 33-year career at Ottawa. He is closing his time by teaching Strength and Conditioning along with Driver’s Ed. Though, when he first started teaching, he taught mostly freshman classes such as but not limited to dance, swimming and gymnastics. Andrews has coached varsity baseball, sophomore and varsity football and has been the head coach of boys and girls bowling. “I wanted to pursue physical education because I enjoyed playing all sports when I was growing up,” Andrews said. “I also enjoy breaking down a skill of a sport for a student to understand.” For his retirement, Andrews hopes to try some new paths and work on some new skills that he never had the chance to experience before.
MRS. PHILLIPS
Registrar Marla Phillips has worked at Ottawa for 17 years where she originally was a library assistant; she then transferred to the main office where she held the very clever title of main office secretary. She now works as a registrar after she stepped up in a time of need; she deals with student transcripts, progress reports and report cards, which is a very crucial job that couldn’t be left unfilled. Phillips aims to travel a lot during her retirement. MR. COOPER
Finance teacher Mike Cooper is ending his run at Ottawa by fueling up minds with financial awareness. Cooper is the current personal finance teacher, but he has also taught computer concepts, bookkeeping and word perfect during his time. He’s been the coach for the boys basketball team, the football team and the boys golf team. Cooper grew up in a family of educators, so he felt that becoming an educator was the best fit for himself.
MR. LEONARD
After being the principal at Ottawa for 11 years, principal Patrick Leonard is retiring. Leonard has spent a total of 22 years as a principal, including time at both Serena High School and Harding Grade School. “I wanted to provide students with the same opportunities I did; I want to prepare them for life after high school and see where my students go in their lives,” Leonard said. His favorite memory from working at Ottawa was working with the staff to improve student learning.
Thank you to all these staff members for dedicating so much of their life to the pursuit of education. A splendid retirement to you all.
