Time to say goodbye
Over her 27-year teaching career, Susan Mahaffey has seen education tools and techniques change. But the important thing stays the same: the young, excited faces coming into her Edgewood Elementary technology classroom.
“The children are the consistent part, no matter what the change is,” Mahaffey said, who previously taught second grade at Edgewood. “They’re just so open and honest. Everything is exciting to them, and it kind of helps you see things through young eyes.”
Mahaffey is one of several Homewood City Schools teachers who retired at the end of the 2016-17 school year. As she thought about her 11 years in Homewood, her fondest memories were the little moments she got to experience: dressing up as a firefighter, walking on stilts, watching students learn to tie their shoes and spending the night at school during a major snowstorm in 2014. Mahaffey said she’s also taught at least three future Eagle Scouts and one future Miss Alabama.
In her technology classroom, Mahaffey said she never gets tired of the “aha moment.”
“You see it in their face, and you hear it in their voice, and it makes my heart smile along with theirs,” she said.
Hall-Kent Elementary first-grade teacher Linda Klopack is also retiring this year. She has taught for 36 years — 33 of them in Homewood — and was awarded one of the Teacher Impact Awards in April at the Homewood City Schools Foundation’s Homewood Grown event.
Klopack said when she decided to teach in Birmingham instead of Talladega County, she interviewed with several school systems. Homewood just happened to be the first that called her back.
“To tell you the truth, I just got lucky,” Klopack said. “I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Klopack fell in love with teaching while in high school, and although she describes herself as somewhat shy around adults, she finds it easy to relax and be enthusiastic with kids in her classroom.
“You have to be pretty fun and silly to keep first-graders engaged and motivated, and I can be pretty goofy around kids,” Klopack said.
Her plans for retirement aren’t set in stone yet, though Klopack said she plans to do a lot of reading and find ways to tutor and mentor kids in a new setting. With her busy to-do list at the end of the school year, Klopack said she doesn’t think the reality of retirement will hit her until mid-summer, when she doesn’t have to prepare for the upcoming year.
“I don’t think it’s quite dawned on me yet,” Klopack said.
Karen Tompkins, another retiring staff member, said the relationships with faculty are what stand out about her time in Homewood. Tompkins has served as Homewood High’s psychometrist, administering and interpreting assessments and psychological tests for students, since 2002. She said she felt support every day in sharing ideas or pursuing training to stay up-to-date in her field, even to the point that one co-worker helped her get ready to run the first leg of the Mercedes Marathon.
“There was always the assurance that there was never a dilemma or problem too great that, with colleagues, couldn’t be tackled. There is no question that the people — including the students — are what makes the Homewood system great, and that is felt everyday whether celebrating accomplishments or needing advice,” Tompkins said.
After retirement, Tompkins said she will be juggling several priorities. Along with her goal to travel, Tompkins said her first grandchild is due in July and a daughter getting married in October. She’s hoping to return to playing guitar and making stained glass artwork.
“I will always treasure the friendships made and am so grateful for my time to serve and learn from the amazing people I was privileged to be around every day. There is no question I will miss the incredible colleagues and the students I have been blessed to know,” Tompkins said.
Mahaffey said she’s planning a trip to Alaska and spending her first year of retirement with a lot of free time to see what she wants to do next. She’ll also be spending time with her three teenage grandkids. Though she’s already making plans to see the friends she’s made at Edgewood, Mahaffey said she’ll miss being in the same building with them every day and being with the kids, which was her “get up and go, every day.”
“I’m thankful that I ended my career here at Homewood, at Edgewood I should say. Edgewood is a wonderful place to work, the teachers who are here, just the dedication they have is incredible,” Mahaffey said.
Retiring Homewood City Schools staff (as of June 2017)
► Susan Mahaffey: Edgewood
► Brenda Davis: Edgewood
► JoAnn Moore: Edgewood
► JoAnn Parnell: Edgewood
► Patsy Blumely: Hall-Kent
► Linda Klopack: Hall-Kent
► Leigh Martin: Hall-Kent
► Phillip Garner: Shades Cahaba
► Lovie Crawford: Homewood
High
► Kitty Morgan: Homewood High
► Karen Tompkins: Homewood High
► Beverly Young: Homewood High
► Cindy Hutchinson: Central Office