R E T IR EM EN T
Paula French WRAPS UP HER TEACHING CAREER WITH A NOTE OF THANKFULNESS
A
s she wrapped up her 40th year of teaching, Sycamore’s Paula French retires from her classroom—the gym—and make a new home in the small town of Mount Dora, Florida about 40 minutes northwest of Orlando. Before she heads south, we wanted to catch up with her and get her perspective on her seven years at the school, how it was different from her many years as a public school teacher, and what she will remember most about being a teacher at Sycamore. After 27 years as a Physical Education and Health teacher at Greencastle High School and another four years at Southmont Junior and Senior High School near Crawfordsville, French had been teaching Human Growth and Development to K-8 Grade students through the Social Health Association of Indiana when a former Sycamore parent and a co-worker, Shelley Ross, inquired whether French might be interested in getting back into the classroom.
French brought to Sycamore her compassion, enthusiasm, and years of “seen-itall” experiences.
16
After 40 years in classroom, she is headed to retirement in Florida
“Shelley knew I had been a PE and Health teacher before teaching with her. Shelley also knew that Sycamore was looking to hire a PE teacher and told me about the position. I applied, was interviewed on a Wednesday, hired on Friday, and started the following Monday at the beginning of Staff Week! Talk about a whirlwind,” she says. French concedes she had given up any hope that she would be able to teach in a school again. “I was so thrilled that Sycamore School hired me to teach both Early
