SAN JUAN ISLAND

Simpson and Wright retiring
after more than two decades at FHES

Story by Sharon Kivisto
Photos of students contributed by Nan Simpson

posted 06/15/04
After more than two decades at Friday Harbor Elementary School, teachers Janet Wright and Nan Simpson are packing up their classrooms for the last time this week. Both are retiring from the school district. Wright is looking forward to retirement, Simpson plans to always be a teacher in some capacity.

Wright's eyes lit up as she described watching children have their "Aha" moment when they first learn to read. "That's what kept me teaching first grade for so long," said the teacher of first and and second grades.

The caring atmosphere of Friday Harbor Elementary School was a high point for both women. If a child needed lunch, someone made sure it was provided. "The social fabric of this island is so strong. There is help for families out there," Simpson said.

Wright worked for six principals during her 28 years at Friday Harbor Elementary School. She recalled how the elementary school classes were housed in the present middle school building. There was more interaction between staff members since they were in such close proximity.

Both women praised the facilities the district has provided. They noted the strong support the community has for the district.

That support is becoming more crucial as the district changes. Wright said the last five years of her 38-year career resembled the first 10. "It's been more like East L.A. the past five years," she said. "More one-parent families or families where the parents are working three or four jobs."

As a result of family's busy schedules and children spending more time in front of the television or computer, children have changed since the two women began teaching. In the past, kids spent more time "doing" instead of "watching," Wright said.

With her husband Richard, Wright left Los Angeles in the early '70s. Richard had inherited $12,000 from his parents. They bought property on San Juan Island and began to build a house. They took a break from pounding nails to attend school board meetings. Two weeks before the school year started, after the first grade teacher suddenly quit, Wright was asked to join the staff. Her husband, Richard, was hired the following year and retired a few years ago.

Simpson, the daughter of a teacher and a relative of other teachers, vowed she would not become a teacher. After receiving her bachelor's degree, she began work in a stock brokerage firm in Chicago. Her first day on the job, she was told her duties on Monday were to water the plants.

Her thoughts towards teaching changed as she rode the Charles Street bus home one night. She saw a poster of a hand: This is your life line. If you are not doing anything with it that matters, it doesn't matter how long it is.

Simpson called her mom and said she changed her mind. After moving to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado, she began teaching there.

After teaching for 10 years, she left Boulder to embark on a trip around the world. She stopped in Friday Harbor before heading to Mexico. The trip lasted until the money ran out in Hawaii.

She backtracked to Friday Harbor. She called the elementary school and found out an applicant had just turned down a job. Asked how long it would take her to move to Friday Harbor to take the position, she replied, "About six hours." She cruised up to Friday Harbor and lived on her boat for a few years.

Simpson taught seven different grade levels during her career. They included kindergarten, third, fourth and fifth grades, a combination fourth-fifth class; seventh and 10th grades.

Simpson and Wright remain passionate about teaching, believing they have made a difference in the lives of their students. But asked if she'd recommend a teaching career, Wright quickly said, "No" and explained why. "The humanity of teaching has gone by the wayside," she said. "We aren't educating the whole person to be sensitive to other people."

The emphasis is no longer on creating life-long learners but rather in taking the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning). "It's something people who are thinking about entering the teaching profession need to think about," she said.

The emphasis on standardized testing has changed the day-to-day life in the classroom. "Curriculum is driven by the tests" Wright said. Textbook publishers tailor their books to the Essential Learning Requirements (ERLs). In the past, teachers had more leeway in how lessons were presented.

The excitement of creating curriculum has been lost by the amount of things we need to check off, Wright said. One of the most effective tools in her teaching arsenal - sustained silent reading (SSR) will likely be eliminated soon, she added. Educators are looking at dropping SSR as one way to free up time for other things. Simpson and Wright said there simply isn't enough time in the day to accommodate everything the state and federal government require.

Like Wright, the changes in education make Simpson cautious about recommending teaching as a career. "Go into teaching, but only if you are passionate about the subject you would be teaching," she said.

Recently both women have had children of former students in their classes. Simpson said instead of slipping up and calling her "Mom," one child recently called her "Grandma." She laughed as she told the story. "I thought, this isn't funny."

Each year is different, both women agreed. When the new class comes through the door at the beginning of the school year, it's a whole new ball game. Simpson wondered how it will feel in a couple of years when "they erase my face," and walking down the street won't trigger cries of "Mrs. Simpson, Mrs. Simpson."

Asked about her favorite memory, Simpson quickly replied, "Marine biology." She described a recent trip her students took aboard the Centennial, University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories research vessel.

Students worked with science researchers. Hearing the students call out the names of the various sea life as the nets were pulled up, Simpson realized marine biology was something they really knew, not something they had just memorized. "We have students saying they want to be scientists. That day was something I would have never wanted to give up," she said. "Watching that kind of proof they got it."

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