Salt Lake kindergarten trainer retires after 51 years within the classroom

Friday introduced a young farewell for a Utah trainer who spent greater than 50 years within the classroom.

Louise Bitner began instructing kindergarten in 1971. She taught at Rosslyn Heights Elementary for 32 years till the college closed down. She spent her final twenty years at Dilworth Elementary in Salt Lake Metropolis.

“I like the music, the PE, the artwork, studying about authors and studying to the kids,” Bitner mentioned. “I find it irresistible all. I grew up in a house the place schooling was such a precedence.”

Bitner has an power that matches the kids she has taught for many years. “It is enjoyable. On a regular basis is a brand new journey, and kids reply to constructive reward,” Bitner mentioned.

On Friday, the kids gathered round Bitner to want her effectively throughout her retirement. The hugs had been countless.

“As an incoming kindergartner, I used to be so nervous to go to high school. I had anxiousness,” Summer time Chatwin mentioned. “Miss Bitner made me really feel wanted at college. She gave me objective.”

Chatwin was in Bitner’s class in 1983. Now her youngsters attend Dilworth the place Bitner teaches.

“We had lived out of state for some time. A number of years again I used to be registering a kindergartner and third grader at Dilworth Elementary,” Chatwin mentioned. “I walked within the doorways and there was Miss Bitner. She instantly, with out skipping a beat, mentioned ‘Hello Summer time! Are you coming to this college?’ I hadn’t seen her for 20 years. However she remembered me. She invests in individuals. She shares love at each flip.”

Now the previous pupil has develop into a mum or dad who volunteers in Bitner’s classroom.

“She has develop into a stunning good friend of mine as an grownup,” Chatwin mentioned. “It is some of the superb journeys of a mentor turning into a good friend.”

The road of fogeys to thank Bitner prolonged outdoors Friday. In each alternate, Bitner referenced mother and father, grandparents, present and former college students. She flawlessly remembered each identify accurately.

Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information

“Individuals say, ‘How do you keep in mind?’ I mentioned, ‘How do you neglect?’ When you have got checked out a beautiful little face for 180 days, they develop into a part of your world,” Bitner mentioned.

When requested what the most important change to the classroom has been within the final 51 years, Bitner talked about a lift in confidence for some college students and a rise in anxiousness for others. She additionally famous the necessity to focus extra on manners.

“The primary questions I was requested at parent-teacher convention 51 years in the past included, ‘Is my baby respectful to you? Are they well mannered in school? Are they effectively behaved? Are they good to the opposite college students?’ These are questions I not often get requested anymore,” Bitner mentioned.

Bitner was the winner of a Huntsman Schooling Award in 1998. She has already signed as much as volunteer and substitute at Dilworth subsequent college 12 months.