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Great Falls Public School 2022 Retiring Teachers Share     REFLECTIONS, MEMORIES, PLANS ​

 WORK HISTORY
I am retiring after 25 years with GFPS, the past 9 at EMS. In those 25 years I have taught grades K-12 in instructional media classes, 10th grade English, 7th & 8th grade English and reading, 7th grade Family & Consumer Sciences, 7th grade life science with the Remote Learning Center, and in SWIS2, an academic intervention program.

MEMORABLE TIMES
I had a student who would talk about me at home with her parents, but she had trouble saying "Ms. Sterling"...it would come out "Mr. Ling"...her parents were quite surprised when they met me that I was a woman. :)

LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TEACHING
Patience and grace

THESE THINGS MAKE ME MOST PROUD
I am most proud of the Remote Learning Center and my 7th grade team. We were given a huge task for the 2020-21 school year, and we jumped in and got to work. While it started out as one of the hardest years I have ever had, by the end it had become my favorite year. Reimagining education and rebuilding how school was going to "be done," in a matter of days, was a monumental task but will forever be the year I remember most fondly.

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will miss the students and their energy the most.

PLANS
While I will continue working in education, hopefully focusing on my passions of empowering women and children, I will be taking some time to focus on my health and being a mom and gramma, too. In the words of David Bowie, "I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring."

WORK HISTORY
My education career started with teaching college business in Las Vegas. Being only 21 years old, many of my students were older than I was. However, I discovered that helping students meet career goals was something I enjoyed. I primarily was preparing students for court reporting and legal work as law clerks and paralegals. While teaching, I was recruited by Caesars Palace as a Marketing Representative. This was an extremely exciting time in my life and I learned so much from this experience. 

i have “stories” that I can tell.  However, being a Montana girl, I wished to return home and decided to return to Montana to teach here. I taught business at the College of Great Falls, and then was hired by Great Falls Public Schools to teach business at C. M. Russell High School. I taught there from 1994 until 2007 when I moved to Great Falls High School. During this time, I have taught business and enjoyed teaching high school students.  At the present time, I teach blended classes in business where there is often more than one class being taught during a class period… up to six at a time. This actually works well and is very much like an actual business with many activities happening at the same time.  

 I am currently the Department Leader for Great Falls High as well as the Work Experience Coordinator.  I also serve as the BPA Advisor and have done this for the past 15 years. I have 32 years of teaching experience. Twenty-eight of those are with the Great Falls Public Schools.

MEMORABLE TIMES
 I am lucky to be able to team teach with fellow business teachers. Teaching in the same classroom in a tight space allows you to get to know these teachers better than you might otherwise. We have lots of shared experiences both in the classroom and from classroom trips. There are too many to share here, but I have many amusing memories to take with me. 

WHAT MAKES ME MOST PROUD

Serving as the BPA Advisor is one of the areas that makes me proud. This club has made a positive impact on me and so many of my students. Through BPA, I am able to maintain contacts with many of my students to see how successful they have become and hear the stories about how BPA has made a positive difference in their lives. 

In BPA, students compete in business competitions. If students do well at the Regional level, they move up to State. If they do extremely well at State, they move up to Nationals. Since I have been the BPA Advisor, GFHS has had students compete at the National level every year but my first. Each year at the National Leadership Conference has its own unique stories; I have enjoyed taking students on their first plane ride, to see their first view of the ocean, and to step their first steps through the gate of Disneyland. What a rewarding experience!

AFTER RETIREMENT

After retirement, I will miss the students and fellow teachers the most. The collaboration with teachers is rewarding, and I am lucky to teach with some amazing and kind teachers. Of course, I will miss the students.  Every day is unique and different when teaching, and I mean this in a positive way. Each individual student has much to share with the world and I am happy to be a part of that.  

PLANS
My plans are to spend more time with my family.  

WORK HISTORY
1992-2001  Longfellow                             Kindergarten and First Grade
2001-2012  West Elementary                  First and Second Grades
2012-2022  Chief Joseph Elementary     First Grade

MEMORABLE TIMES
So many funny things have been said and done over the years. Kids are really funny, especially the little ones. They call it like they see it. They don't realize how funny they are, but I'm laughting out loud or to myself all day on most days.

CAREER LESSONS
Teaching has taught me so many life lessons. The ones that stick out:  It's the little things that mean so much; Change is inevitable. Good, bad or otherwise, it's guaranteed; Boundariues are absolutely necessary to be happy in both our personal and professional lives.

THESE THINGS MAKE ME PROUD
I am most proud of the academic skills, good work habits and positive citizenship skills I have instilled in the hundreds of students I've taught over the last 30 years. It has always been my hope that those skills serve them well as they continue on through their school years, and as they go on to be productive and contributing members of society.

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will miss my colleagues, students and families. The relationships with people are what makes this profession challenging but great all at the same time. 

PLANS
I'm going to do whatever I want to do, when I want to do it. I'm looking forward to the options having time will bring.

WORK HISTORY
Beth is retiring after 29 years of teaching, nine of those years most recently teaching 9th grade science at Great Falls High School. She has also had the privilege of teaching middle school science at both East and North, Environmental Education to grades K-12, numerous outdoor summer camps, and she was a technology coach for two years. 

She has collaborated with others to receive grants to develop and implement outdoor science investigations for students in Great Falls. In addition, she has had the opportunity to take students to Florida and Hawaii multiple times for science trips. Since she has been at the high school, students have travelled to Costa Rica, Japan, and Italy and Greece and upcoming trips to the Galapagos Islands, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. 

Working with astronomers and the Spitzer Space Telescope for eight years, provided the opportunity to have students engage in authentic research and interact with NASA astronomers and present at astronomy conferences around the country was very rewarding. One of the pictures is two of my students and Neil DeGrasse Tyson at an astronomy conference where we presented! 

MEMORABLE TIMES
Beth had the unique opportunity to research bryophytes and epiphytic plant communities in the Queen Charlotte Islands and western British Columbia. Professionally, she presented at the National Science Teachers Association twice, leads various science and technology workshops in Great Falls and the state for other teachers. She was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching for Montana in 2003 and was a Montana Teacher of the Year Finalist in 2011.

International teaching has also provided highlights of her career as she travelled to Ukraine in 2011, as a teacher ambassador, through the (TEA)Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program through the state department. She was able to work alongside teachers and students in Nouvokrainka, Ukraine.

In December of 2015, she embarked on a voyage to Antarctica as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow which helped learn about a part of the world she has never seen and then was able to share the experience with her school and community. Finally in the summer of 2019, Beth was a fellow through LRRT (Limited Resource Teacher Training) and worked with teachers and students in Rwamagana, Rwanda. 

LIFE-LONG LEARNING
Throughout her career in education, her goals have ultimately been to help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, become scientifically literate, foster more global perspectives, and inspire and empower students to understand how their decisions and actions will shape the future. She has always encouraged students to be curious and be an explorer of the world. 

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will definitely miss my colleagues and students….retirement is bittersweet! Teaching is a difficult profession, but the rewards never end! One door is closing, but others will open…I'm not sure of immediate plans but definitely I am going to be spending time with my family, including my six grandchildren! 

WORK HISTORY
During my 30 year career, I taught students at the following Great Falls schools:
     West, Morningside, Meadowlark, Valley View, where I taught Elementary PE
     North, where I taught Middle School PE
     CMR, where I taught Freshman Health & PE

LESSONS LEARNED FROM TEACHING
Relationships make our lives richer and enhance learning. Relationships with co-workers made my job enjoyable every single day; there were many laughs and shared experiences with the many people that I worked with over the years. Developing relationships with my students created a positive, trusting environment for all of us.

THESE THINGS MAKE ME PROUD
I was a dependable, consistent influence within our department and for my students, and the friendships I have developed with other teachers and students (those that I am still in touch with). I enjoy seeing past students in their post CMR lives and hearing their stories.  I enjoy being a part of their memories.

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will miss the relationships with my students and my coworkers.

PLANS
Although I don’t have any specific plans yet, I do plan on lazy mornings reading the newspaper without a rush out the door, having more than 25 minutes for lunch, and creating new hobbiesI
I will also spend the fall watching my daughter play VB at the University of Utah, and during the wInter, I will watch my son play basketball at Providence (UP).

WORK HISTORY
For 38 years I have taught students a variety of subjects in a number of schools.
As an elementary physical education teacher, grades K-8, and as a middle school science and history teacher, and last but not least, as a high school business teacher where I taught 9 through 12 students typing with a typewriter and accounting and bookkeeping, I worked for the Centerville Public Schools. 
Working for the Great Falls Public Schools, I taught science and math to seventh and eighth grade students at East Middle School. Eventually, I came to Great Falls High School, where I have taught students in grades 9-12 the following subjects:  accounting, personal finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, business law, financial tech skills, introductionst to business, management and independent study. I have also been the DECA Advisor.

MEMORABLE TIMES
Rolling softballs into Jeremy Smith's room while he was teaching at East.
Setting up the big Gorilla prop for when fellow teachers would come in and turn on the light to scare them. 
Wearing wigs with Geoff Habel while playing tin the facutly vs.students basketball game.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM TEACHING
I have learned we are going to make mistakes and learn from these.
We need to have fun getting to know who our students are from year-to-year, but we also need to always stay ahead of our students. My advice to new teachers would be to work hard and continue to learn every day to become a better role moderl for all students and staff. Be positive and respect all of the people with whom you work.

THESE THINGS MAKE ME MOST PROUD
Seeing young students/athletes excel, and then having them return and thank you for making their success better because of our teaching. Building relationships that last a lifetime, especially with those we touched and never realized.  

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will miss seeing students/athletes growing, learning and excelling in every day life lessons as well as communicating and having conversations about life and what they are going to be doing when they graduate or move on.

PLANS
My wife, Vickie, and I are planning on moving to Missoula where we will be closer to our three children and our three and soon to be fourth grandchild. I plan on officiating volleyball, spending time with our family and helping coach our grandchildren if needed. We will also be camping and traveling more after we get settled in our home in Missoula. 

WORK HISTORY
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­I taught English to students in Vaughn, Montana:  7th and 8th grade English.
For several Great Falls Public Schools I taught students English at North Middle School, Paris Gibson Middle School, and East Middle School.

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE
One of my most memorable stories happened during a parent conference. I tried to quote a student’s behavior and instead of saying, “ He said Shut the BLANK Up,”  I accidentally said,  “He said BLANK the "F" BLANK!"

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR TEACHING CAREER?
Not everyone can be a teacher!

THESE THINGS MAKE ME MOST PROUD
I am proud of the service I have given to so many young people during my career. 

AFTER RETIREMENT
I will miss my teaching partners the most.  We are more than co-workers. We are family!

PLANS
I am planning to work part-time for my family, and I will spend a lot of time traveling and hanging out on Salmon Lake!