Retiring educators

     Teaching is definitely a part of Carrie Steger’s life and family.

     As she prepares to retire after her 32^nd year in education, Steger said, “I had a wonderful group of kids this year. It’s the right time to go out on a positive note.”

     Steger has taught all over the State of Iowa in her career has a teacher.

     “We moved 12 times in our first eight years of marriage,” she said. With a degree in special education, Steger said she was able to pick up and teach all over.

     “I was able to get a job everywhere we moved,” she said.

     She spent 24 years in K-12 special education. This will be her eighth and final year as the Monticello Middle School fifth grade math and social studies teacher. Steger spent a total of 19 years teaching for the Monticello Community School District.

     Steger’s daughter is just finishing up her degree in education at the University of Northern Iowa, with a student teaching job to come. Steger’s father was a high school teacher and principal, as were her two grandfathers.

     “So I had a big support system,” she said of pursuing a career in education.

     It was just four years ago that the middle school decided to departmentalize, break up the subjects among the different teachers.

     “I loved teaching two subjects because I was able to just focus on those two things,” she said, “and do a better job at teaching those special areas.”

     After teaching special education for so many years, Steger said she was just ready for a change.

     “Pam Johnson was retiring and there was an opening so I applied,” she said of the district losing a fifth grade teacher.

     Steger said her goal was to always dedicate 30 years to education before she would choose to retire.

     “It’s nice to end on a high note with my goal being fulfilled,” she said.

     Teaching both math and social studies, Steger said both subjects are specialized.

     “I’ve been able to expand my love of history and appreciate it more because that’s what I’ve stressed to the kids all these years,” she said.

     It’s tradition for all Monticello fifth graders to travel to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch. Steger said she recently took she final field trip to the museum with her students.

     “It’s been enjoyable every year,” she recalled.

     With a family of educators, Steger said she knew she would one day become a teacher.

     “My first grade teacher was just awesome,” she boasted.

     And now with her daughter taking after her, Steger said she would spend a lot of time at school with her mother.

     “I never taught my daughter, though,” she said.

     Looking back, Steger said having taught several grade levels, she’s seen how state regulations have gotten tougher.

     “It’s a challenge having to test these students more and more,” she said. “It takes away from the actual teaching time.”

     Steger does not anticipate a change anytime soon.

     With no immediate retirement plans, Steger just wants to help support her daughter in her own teaching endeavors. They have a trip planned to Germany next winter to see the history of the Holocaust and tour what remains of the concentration camps.

     “It’ll be nice not to have a set schedule, no lesson plans, and no homework,” she said of the free time.

     Steger will surly miss the students, though, in the end.

     “It’s been great watching them grow and mature from the beginning of the year to the end,” she said fondly. “That’s always a treat.”

     The district has already interviewed candidates for Steger’s position. She leaves a bit of advice for the person following in her footsteps: “Be flexible. That’s very important. Enjoy teaching, and enjoy every day with the kids. Parent communication is really important.”

     With stacks of personal belongings ready waiting to be packed away, Steger said, “I feel like I’m starting a new chapter in my life.”