Ms. Coleman, who has been one of C.K.M.’s most hardworking and exceptional science teachers for almost twenty years, has decided to retire at the end of this year, wrapping up thirty total years working in the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Ms. Coleman taught at Cal Middle School for six years before transferring to Kennedy High School, which she “couldn’t wait to leave,” until she finally landed at C.K.M. in 2000, where she has happily taught biology since.
Having always taught science, Ms. Coleman has stood out as an exceptional molecular biology teacher, fully prepared to take on the instruction of McClatchy’s freshmen. “I love ninth graders!” she says. “They’re so fun, open to anything, enthusiastic.”
Ms. Coleman describes one of the best moments in her teaching career in one student she had who, three months into the school year, had “not said a thing, not turned in anything.”
“I was very frustrated,” explains Ms. Coleman, “because he was essentially failing and getting D’s, and I was feeling like he wasn’t learning anything.” She went on to describe that one day, during a discussion on the current topic they were studying, the student had suddenly put up his hand, and said “‘You guys are all wrong, here’s what it is.’”
“And he was absolutely right! That’s like the best thing that had ever happened,” exclaimed Ms. Coleman. “Afterward he started participating, it’s quite possible he felt like he wasn’t on the same level as the other kids, and then when he realized actually he was, it made him feel more confident. Those kinds of moments,” she said. “I live for those, they don’t happen all the time.”
While she’s sad to leave behind her students come retirement, Ms. Coleman hopes to stay involved with the C.K.M. community by substituting when she can. “I’m going to miss the kids a lot,” she said. “But I hope to come back and sub for those who I know are going to leave me a lesson and have good control over their classes.”
The students are not the only thing that Ms. Coleman is going to miss. “I really am going to miss working with the science department, and not just the science department,” she said. “The people that have been at McClatchy for most of my career, definitely my science colleagues, all the people I have worked with the whole time, all the people who are so involved are so special to me.”
When asked to reflect on her favorite parts of McClatchy, Ms. Coleman finds that what she loves most about her home school is the diversity, “McClatchy is so diverse, and that diversity is celebrated,” she remarked. “The fact that that diversity is universally seen as a strength by the adults and the kids, makes it a place you want to be.”
Ms. Coleman also commented on McClatchy’s open and welcoming sense of community that she observes everyday in the student body. “When you walk around McClatchy, you see kids together and hanging out and eating lunch together. When I was at Kennedy, it wasn’t like that.”
“And the staff has always been very collegial,” continues Ms. Coleman. “It is always ‘what’s best for kids?’ and people are always willing to make a sacrifice if it’s about kids.” She adds that this was not her sentiments at Kennedy. “The conversations here always seem to center around what’s best for our students, and that’s what it should be and that’s what feels most natural to me and so I just love it, I love the tradition.”
There are two things Ms. Coleman is most looking forward to enjoying in retirement. One is having more time to spend with her grandkids in the Bay Area and being able to be more a part of their lives, and “go to school on Grand-Parent’s Day.” Vacationing in the Galapagos is not entirely out of the question for her, as she does want to travel a little bit more, but she says, “Most immediately it is about family; I will be able to provide more support that was hard to do when I’m working, and I’m looking forward to being more available.”
The second thing Coleman looks forward to is an end to all grading. While Ms. Coleman’s heart will always be in planning lessons, the interactions with kids, working with her colleagues, she is looking forward to spending the 15-20 hours a week usually dedicated to grading and devoting it instead to time with friends and raising the garden she’s always wanted. “I love teaching, I’m absolutely done with grading,” she says. “It is the soul-crushing part of teaching. That being gone is going to be huge.”
Most of all, Ms. Coleman will simply miss being a part of the school she has always loved and appreciated, “I get up every morning looking forward to my job, I love what I do, not everyone can say that. I’m going to miss that.”
“Thank you to colleagues who have made it a pleasure to work here, thank you to the kids, the spark at C.K.M.,” says Ms. Coleman with a smile. “I’ve been very lucky to have kids who make me smile, and don’t make me want to tear out my hair too much. I’m going to miss C.K.M.”