A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: AREA TEACHERS FACE LURE OF RETIREMENT

Judith Peetz, fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, checked an assignment with student Kingsley Ehie.

Many years ago, it was not unusual for teachers to have extended careers in the classroom. Teachers started young, as young as 17 in some cases, and put in as many years as possible before considering retirement.

Times changed, and teachers began entering the classroom later in life and working fewer years. Today, Missouri teachers can retire with normal retirement benefits after 30 years. According to Keith Bozarth of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education public school retirement system office, long-term teachers are much fewer in number, although Southeast Missouri appears to have its fair share.

"My guess is that Southeast Missouri would have more people who stay beyond 30 years," said Bozarth. "I think in the rural areas you tend to have people who stay in one place a longer time. There's a real attachment to the school system."

Bozarth said Missouri has about 70,000 active teachers and 23,000 retirees each year. Educators are a "mixed bag," he said, with some opting to stay in the profession while others change careers or accept early retirement incentives. School districts benefit from long-term teachers who bring the benefit of experience to the classroom, he said.

Physical education teacher Marki Springer shares 37 years of experience with students at Louis J. Schultz School. Springer said she didn't retire seven years ago because she enjoys being around students and has a tradition of education in her family.

"This is basically all I know," she said. "I think it's a wonderful vocation, especially for a woman, because you can spend a lot of time with your kids."

Springer said she has toyed with the idea of retiring recently, mainly because of societal changes. Middle school students are fun to work with, she said, but there is less respect in classrooms now than when she started teaching.

"It's kind of going through my mind now because things have changed over the years," she said. "Basically, most of your kids are pretty good kids, but I think kids aren't as respectful, not just to teachers, but to each other."

Schultz librarian Bonnie Wilkening has been an educator for 36 years. She also enjoys working with middle school students and said they keep teachers thinking and acting young.

Wilkening agreed that societal changes are making things a little tougher on educators. Even so, she said retirement hasn't enticed her yet.

"It hasn't even crossed my mind," she said. "I guess that's why I haven't retired, because I do like what I'm doing."