After 15 years, English teacher Kathleen Beckman plans to pack up her room one last time.

After teaching all levels of sophomore English, AP Literature and Composition, reading improvement, media literacy, introduction to journalism, newspaper journalism, life resource management, foods 1 and advisory, Beckman is set to retire.

As an accomplished teacher, Beckman has experienced many things throughout her years working at ACHS. Despite the many memories, one of her favorites includes advising the Tom Tom and the controversial content covered throughout the issues.

“My editor and I filed a FOIA together, a first for me and for her, and we also worked with some attorneys to investigate the legal aspects of a few stories they worked on,” Beckman said. “Additionally, I remember having great discussions about some of our staff editorials and the responses we received from people in the community.  I remember one strongly worded letter to the editor from a former superintendent who was critical of a staff member’s stance on legalizing gay marriage; it was shocking that a public school administrator would use his office and write his comments on District letterhead as if he/she were voicing the opinions of the District.  What followed was a memorable discussion on the separation of church and State and the power of the press.  They were all wonderful learning experiences and I was proud of the thoughtful, articulate and professional writing my students published.”

Teachers are some of the most important people in our lives, and not only do they teach us, but we teach them as well. Interacting with our teachers every day brings us new ideas and mentalities as we bring out the same in them. For English department chair Dee Andershock, Beckman’s retirement means a significant change in the culture of the English department.

“Ms. Beckman is like a mom to all of us in the department and her students,” Andershock said. “She treats her students like they’re her own children. She celebrates their victories and pushes them when they aren’t doing their best. She cares for them like a mom would and she does the same for us teachers. She’s the first to call you out if you’re doing something wrong.”

Beckman reflected on what she has learned from students and how they have affected her overall.

“I’ve learned—or have had reinforced—that everyone has a story,” Beckman said. “Each student who sits in my classroom comes to school with a different set of expectations and needs.  He or she also comes with a different work ethic and interest level. I’ve learned different ways to try to reach each student, and sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I’m not. It’s hard to accept that every student is not reaching for ‘excellence’ but that’s okay.  They might not reach for excellence in English class, but maybe they are reaching for it and achieving it, in theater class, or science or art or math class. I hope my students have left my classes knowing that I truly care about them and want the best for them.”

Just as many of the seniors are going to experience leaving ACHS in just over a month, Beckman too will leave the people she has grown to love and become close with at ACHS.

“I’m going to miss the bubbly energy that I am exposed to each day as my students share what is going on in their lives,” Beckman said. “I’m going to miss working with students individually to help them produce writing that they are truly proud of. I’m going to miss sharing great pieces of literature with young adults and having them make connections between that literature and the world today.  I’m also going to really miss the people I work with.  My fellow English teachers are a wonderful group of educators; I have so much respect for each one of them. They work incredibly hard to engage, teach and encourage the students here at ACHS. They are also some of the funniest people I know. As a department we have had traditional ‘parties’ and get-togethers that I have thoroughly enjoyed and that I will really miss.”   

Beckman plans on spending her retirement engaging in more active learning. She explained how her seniors have inspired her to start new, as she considers returning to school to continue her learning.

“I’m excited to see what new opportunities I will encounter and I’m anxious to make a positive impact in the world,” Beckman said.