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My teaching assignments at Cooldige included:Learning Disabilities grades Kindergarten-6th grades for several years, after which I spent the remainder of my teaching career at Coolidge teaching English/Language Arts grades 4th-6th which I thoroughly enjoyed teaching. 6th grade being my favorite grade to teach.Three words that describe Coolidge: Best School Ever!!My experience at Coolidge was indeed rewarding and many times challenging. I learned so many life lessons and made lifetime friends.Teaching at Coolidge was an awesome experience.The environment was comfortable but yet businesslike. There was lots of teaching, learning, and nurturing.What I enjoyed most about Coolidge was watching students make great strides academically and socially as well as improvement in behavior.I like the fact that the Principal, Staff, Parents,and Volunteers from the Community worked tirelessly together as a team to insure that students experienced many successes.Regardless of how we taught about things and personal opinions we always work together. We always were able come together figure it out Fond memories at Coolidge are numerous. They include field trips, field days, class parties, 6th grade end of year assemblies, class projects, sporting events,Staff Pay Day Friday breakfast, weekly library trips,read-a-thons, staff meetings, team meetings, being recognized as a top achieving school under the leadership of our principal for many years the late Mr. James Bracy.We had a wonderful Principal, James Bracy. He was encouraging, he was happy, I really looked up to him as a mentor. He got along with the staff, students, the parents, the community. We also had many, many laughs and fun times.Totally Unforgettable!! Our Coolidge family suffered the tragic lost of three happy. vibrant, and well loved students. They perished in a house fire. The lost of those children was very devastating to us all. It affected the entire staff, student body, as well as the community. I remember speaking at the funeral. it was one of the most difficult and challenging tasks I have ever taken on. A wooden monument was placed on the front lawn of the school. A tree was also planted in their memory. Hopefully, it still stands. I wish there was some way that the school could've been kept open.Seeing Coolidge close was bittersweet for me; however, seeing the building being transformed into something positive such as apartments makes me feel good on the inside. Now I can pass by and see the school building that I worked in for so many years,holding so many memories...still standing tall! |
