After Nearly 40 Years, Welborn Retiring
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
“I love my Madison,” she said in an interview in her classroom Thursday afternoon. “It’s changed so much. I started with (principal) Bill Farrar. It was so fun to come to the new school (this year). It’s been fun to have a nice, new building. The Madison teachers have always been so close. We call ourselves a family.”
Welborn grew up on a farm near North Manchester. She went to school at North Manchester High School and then Manchester College.
In 1968-69, she taught second grade at Bourbon.
In 1969-70, she moved to Cedar Key Island in Florida. She said it was a “most wonderful experience.”
“We got to go out and do a lot of fishing at the time. That was a lot of fun,” Welborn said.
From 1971 to 1973, she moved to Utah and earned her master’s degree in library science from Utah State University. She said she never actually got to use her library science degree, however.
For about five years, Welborn then taught in Lexington, Ky., at an adult learning center. She taught nurse’s math and General Educational Development prep. She helped prepare adults to take the GED test.
After moving back to North Manchester, Welborn taught second grade for half a year at Pierceton during the 1977-78 school year. She filled the teacher position for a teacher on maternity leave.
Then in October 1978, she started with Warsaw Community Schools at Claypool and Silver Lake. Welborn was a traveling teacher, going to each school on different days.
“For a long time we just did Chapter One. We took children who had trouble reading,” Welborn said.
Then during the 1994-95 school year, Welborn was trained in Reading Recovery.
“In my opinion, I learned so much doing that program. It was in Middlebury once a week, we’d go up there,” Welborn said.
Until 2001-02, Welborn taught Reading Recovery at Madison Elementary School in the mornings. In the afternoons, she trained other teachers in Reading Recovery at Warsaw’s Title I schools.
Three days before school started in 2002, then Madison principal Jeff Neumann told Welborn she was going to be a first-grade teacher. It was different for her because she was used to having one student at a time, not a whole classroom.
Lucky for Welborn, she had two “wonderful co-horts” that helped her. Sue Chartier and Risa Young were fabulous in helping her, she said.
“There’s so much to a classroom. I don’t think anyone can imagine, and they were a wonderful help to me,” Welborn said of her co-horts.
With years of experience, teaching a full classroom has become easier for her.
“It’s gotten much better because you know what to expect, what you need,” she said.
“I love first-graders because they learn so much,” Welborn said. “The sparkle in their eyes when they learn something new, particularly reading. It’s the most wonderful thing to see.”
Over the years, the curriculum has changed a lot, she said. It’s become more challenging to students, but that’s a good thing because the schools keep pressing ahead, she said.
“We’ve changed our math curriculum. It’s been a big challenge, but I think it will do the job they want it to,” Welborn said of Singapore math. “Our (school) system is always trying to do its best.”
Once she retires, Welborn hopes to travel and volunteer. She’s been to Europe, and loves France. She also has a huge garden and an 1850s restored house to take care of in her retirement. She plans to volunteer at the North Manchester Library and maybe at schools.[[In-content Ad]]
“I love my Madison,” she said in an interview in her classroom Thursday afternoon. “It’s changed so much. I started with (principal) Bill Farrar. It was so fun to come to the new school (this year). It’s been fun to have a nice, new building. The Madison teachers have always been so close. We call ourselves a family.”
Welborn grew up on a farm near North Manchester. She went to school at North Manchester High School and then Manchester College.
In 1968-69, she taught second grade at Bourbon.
In 1969-70, she moved to Cedar Key Island in Florida. She said it was a “most wonderful experience.”
“We got to go out and do a lot of fishing at the time. That was a lot of fun,” Welborn said.
From 1971 to 1973, she moved to Utah and earned her master’s degree in library science from Utah State University. She said she never actually got to use her library science degree, however.
For about five years, Welborn then taught in Lexington, Ky., at an adult learning center. She taught nurse’s math and General Educational Development prep. She helped prepare adults to take the GED test.
After moving back to North Manchester, Welborn taught second grade for half a year at Pierceton during the 1977-78 school year. She filled the teacher position for a teacher on maternity leave.
Then in October 1978, she started with Warsaw Community Schools at Claypool and Silver Lake. Welborn was a traveling teacher, going to each school on different days.
“For a long time we just did Chapter One. We took children who had trouble reading,” Welborn said.
Then during the 1994-95 school year, Welborn was trained in Reading Recovery.
“In my opinion, I learned so much doing that program. It was in Middlebury once a week, we’d go up there,” Welborn said.
Until 2001-02, Welborn taught Reading Recovery at Madison Elementary School in the mornings. In the afternoons, she trained other teachers in Reading Recovery at Warsaw’s Title I schools.
Three days before school started in 2002, then Madison principal Jeff Neumann told Welborn she was going to be a first-grade teacher. It was different for her because she was used to having one student at a time, not a whole classroom.
Lucky for Welborn, she had two “wonderful co-horts” that helped her. Sue Chartier and Risa Young were fabulous in helping her, she said.
“There’s so much to a classroom. I don’t think anyone can imagine, and they were a wonderful help to me,” Welborn said of her co-horts.
With years of experience, teaching a full classroom has become easier for her.
“It’s gotten much better because you know what to expect, what you need,” she said.
“I love first-graders because they learn so much,” Welborn said. “The sparkle in their eyes when they learn something new, particularly reading. It’s the most wonderful thing to see.”
Over the years, the curriculum has changed a lot, she said. It’s become more challenging to students, but that’s a good thing because the schools keep pressing ahead, she said.
“We’ve changed our math curriculum. It’s been a big challenge, but I think it will do the job they want it to,” Welborn said of Singapore math. “Our (school) system is always trying to do its best.”
Once she retires, Welborn hopes to travel and volunteer. She’s been to Europe, and loves France. She also has a huge garden and an 1850s restored house to take care of in her retirement. She plans to volunteer at the North Manchester Library and maybe at schools.[[In-content Ad]]
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