Time to say goodbye

Franchesca Wilkes has spent more years than most inside Hoover’s classrooms. She attended Hoover schools as a child — Shades Mountain Elementary, Simmons Middle and Berry High — and returned after college for a 25-year teaching career in Hoover City Schools.

Wilkes is among several teachers who announced their retirement at the end of the 2016-2017 school year.

“That’s a full and long and productive career. It’s my time to pursue some things that I haven’t gotten a chance to do,” Wilkes said.

Though her last six years have been spent in the fifth grade language arts and history classroom at Brock’s Gap Intermediate, Wilkes’ career also has included time at Rocky Ridge Elementary and Trace Crossings. She became a teacher because she wanted to provide the same encouraging atmosphere her own teachers provided for her.

“I struggled in school myself, and I always had good teachers that would take the time to teach me. And I always felt like a valuable student and my voice mattered in the classroom,” Wilkes said. “The one thing I love is probably the learning process and watching children teach their peers.”

Gwin Elementary kindergarten teacher Kathy Tyson also has retired after 29 years in public education, 28 of them in Hoover. She’s also taught first, second and third grade, but there’s something special about being part of a child’s first year in the classroom.

“They’re so forgiving. Every day is like brand new to them, and they come in with — not an empty slate like people think. I think it’s that freshness or that forgiving attitude they have,” Tyson said. “They just love you so hard.”

She has years of great memories — including a former kindergarten student coming back as a student teacher — but Tyson said the last four years have been “my best years ever” because of her team-teaching arrangement with fellow kindergarten teacher Rebekah Reach. Team-teaching has enabled them to give more attention to kids ahead or behind in certain subjects, and Tyson said she was learning new techniques right up until the end of the school year.

“Part of me wants to stay and use the things I’ve learned just this year, but I think teachers never stop learning,” Tyson said.

“You’re in the room with greatness,” Reach said. “It won’t be quite the same without her.”

Tyson chose to retire to help take care of her mother and spend time with family, but she’ll still be a familiar face at Gwin. She plans to help in the kindergarten classrooms on the first day and continue as a substitute teacher.

“This is absolutely the best place to work,” Tyson said.

At Hoover High School, Beverly Williamson has commanded the front desk as the principal’s secretary for five years. Now that she’s retired, she’ll have to get used to a much smaller crowd each day.

“I probably literally lay eyes on up to 300 people a day,” Williamson said.

Her 27-year teaching career included time in Montgomery, as well as Hoover’s Central Office and Spain Park’s front office. With all the people and tasks she had to take care of, Williamson said she sometimes felt like a clown “juggling so many things at the same time” — and she kept a red clown nose handy for a laugh on particularly busy days.

“The difference I’ve always said … when you work in a central office and you come to a high school, it’s a lot like stepping from a stagecoach to a silver bullet train. The pace is so much faster,” Williamson said.

Some of her favorite memories are pep rally days for football home games, when she would play band music and lead students in cheers over the intercom as they changed classes.

“Teenagers are interesting, inspiringand challenging all at the same time,” Williamson said.

Williamson’s three young granddaughters have moved into her neighborhood, and she said she’s looking forward to passing on some of her hobbies, including quilting and making jellies.

“They’re moving in, and we are going to have a good time. There’s reasons 1, 2 and 3 right there,” Williamson said.

As for Wilkes, she felt the time was right to retire because her two children are graduating high school and college. She plans to start learning some new hobbies, such as painting or a new language, and travel. Wilkes said she and her daughter are hoping to take a mission trip to Africa.

“I want to be in that student role now instead of being a teacher,” Wilkes said.

But she’ll miss her students and colleagues at Brock’s Gap, and Wilkes said she plans to return occasionally as a substitute teacher.

“I’m going to miss the kids, and I’m going to miss the challenge of the day. I’m going to miss their smiles, their questions, their love of learning, their love of reading and writing,” Wilkes said. “I feel that I have met my purpose, and I’m ready to pursue other things in life that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Hoover City Schools retiring faculty, staff

► Pamela Allen: Bus driver

► Christine Baker: Deer ValleyElementary third grade

► Susan Beck: Bus driver

► Daryl Beckmann: Bus driver

► Deborah Blalock: Rocky Ridge Elementary literacy coach

► Karen Burford: Bumpus Middle teacher

► Tanya Constantine: South Shades Crest Elementary fourth grade

► Jacquelyn Davis: South Shades Crest Elementary child nutrition

► John Diplacido: Bumpus Middle eighth grade science

► Tricia East: Brock’s Gap Intermediate interventionist

► Cheri Faith: Bluff Park Elementary second grade

► Lonise Garcia: Berry Middle cafeteria manager

► Madge Gregg: Hoover High teacher

► Susan Hardy: Bluff Park Elementary librarian

► Lydia Harris: Trace Crossings second grade

► Lewis Harrison: Bus driver

► Susan King: Spain Park English teacher

► Suzanne Lindgren: Berry Middle assistant cafeteria manager

► Lee Ann Looney: Bus driver

► Martha Mackay: GreystoneElementary fourth grade

► Barbara Mayer: Central Office

► Michelle Murphy: Berry Middle sixth grade

► Susan Murphy: Rocky Ridge Elementary counselor

► Rebecca Neuberger: Trace Crossings English Language Learning

► Karen Pfeiffer: Trace Crossings teacher

► Deborah Robbins: Rocky Ridge Elementary fourth grade

► Denna Scott: Green Valley Elementary bookkeeper

► Kathy Self: Trace Crossings second grade

► Kathy Tyson: Gwin Elementary kindergarten

► Kathleen Wheaton: Greystone Elementary principal

► Louise White: Central Office

► Franchesca Wilkes: Brock’s Gap Intermediate fifth grade

► Beverly Williamson: Hoover High principal’s secretary

► Cynthia Wisdom: Gwin Elementary second grade