If education is a battle to better young minds, Pat Fanger says she was most at home in the trenches.

After 30 years in public education, Fanger is leaving the battlefield for a calling.

The assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Cape Girardeau School District plans to retire this summer, the district announced Friday. Fanger will stay on for a couple of months to help in the transition of incoming assistant superintendent Sherry Copeland of St. Joseph, Mo. Copeland, a Southeast Missouri State University graduate, currently serves as director of the Regional Professional Development Center at Missouri Western State University. She could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Cape Girardeau School Board met in closed session Tuesday to discuss the matter, and approved the hire at the meeting.

Superintendent Jim Welker said Fanger had discussed the possibility of retiring for some time, and the board accepted her resignation in closed session in December. The district, he said, posted the assistant superintendent position in January.

"She will very much be missed," Welker said. "She's done a wonderful job for Cape public schools."

Fanger, born and raised in St. Louis, began her career in special education in her hometown school district. She served as an assistant principal and principal for several years in the St. Louis area, before taking a position as assistant superintendent of the Bayless School District.

Eight years ago, opportunity knocked in Cape Girardeau. Her husband took a job with a local firm just as the Cape Girardeau School District posted a curriculum director position.

Fanger presided over an evolving instruction department.

"When I first got here, the curriculum guide was [the size of] a table of contents of a book," she said. Now the district's curriculum is tied to state standards, and a constant stream of assessments mark student progress at all grade levels.

Fanger also helped lead the district's change of educational perspective, from a district-level focus to a building-level emphasis, reflecting the philosophy that what works at one school may not at another.

"Pat has led the charge in terms of professional development; I think that's been a big part of us moving forward and improving student achievement," Welker said.

From strictly curriculum, Fanger moved back into a familiar role as assistant superintendent, serving for a short time as interim superintendent before Welker accepted the position.

But she said her years as a principal were the most rewarding of her career.

"To be right there in the trenches was way cool," Fanger said. "That's one thing that's hard to do in central office, and I do miss the day-to-day contact with teachers and students and those relationships."

Fanger has seen plenty of changes in education over the past three decades, but she said none more pronounced than the push for school accountability, driven by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. That's a good thing, Fanger said, but she worries that too much emphasis on the test could ultimately hurt education.

"I hope we keep it a balance, that we don't go to such extremes becomes harmful to teachers and students," she said. "I do worry about the future."

Fanger said the challenges of public education didn't motivate her to leave it. She said she felt a calling to retire, to serve in a different capacity. A mission trip to Nicaragua last year sealed the deal.

"I have a great desire to do a lot of volunteering, to help organizations in this town to try to make a difference in the lives of people," she said.

As for her time working to improve young minds and lives, Fanger said she hopes she will be remembered for her commitment to that calling.

"I did everything I could to bring people together, in the interest of kids. And I fell in love with every district and school I worked in," she said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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