Elmbrook Honors 19 Retiring Employees

The Elmbrook School District thanked these 19 administrators, teachers and staff members for their years of service.

Elmbrook Honors Retiring Teachers

The district celebrated the service of a record 58 teachers, administrators and staff who are retiring this month after a combined tenure of 1,570 years.

With a record number of teachers and staff retiring this year, the Elmbrook School District held its annual recognition ceremony at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center, showing a video memorial. A list of 58 teachers, support staff and an administrator was shown at the end of the 20-minute video, edited for length on Patch.  The employees have a combined service of 1,570 years for an average of 27 years. Many had worked for Elmbrook for more than 30 years. Superintendent Matt Gibson said he understood that not all teachers wanted to retire this year, and some were prompted by the changes in state education funding and collective bargaining. "You probably have mixed feelings. I have mixed feelings," Gibson said. "I think we're losing just some …

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Nearly 60 Retire From Elmbrook School District

Elmbrook is seeing quadruple the number of retirements this year, including many veteran teachers.

Nearly 60 teachers and support staff are retiring from Elmbrook, quadruple the amount in recent years. Elmbrook Schools released the list below of all the departing teachers and their years of service, for some exceeding 25 years. Superintendent Matt Gibson praised them for their work and said they will be remembered for years to come. “This unprecedented number of retiring staff have devoted their professional lives to our mission, to educate and inspire every student to think, to learn, and to succeed,” Superintendent Matt Gibson said. “Their legacies will live on within the hearts of their students and the expectations for their successors,” he said. The employees listed below will be recognized at a district event this month.    Anne …

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Elmbrook HR Director to Join Waukesha School District

Christine Hedstrom is leaving Elmbrook on July 1 after more than six years as its assistant superintendent of human resources.

Christine Hedstrom, assistant superintendent for human resources at Elmbrook School District, is resigning to accept a similar position for the Waukesha School District. Hedstrom said Tuesday her last day will be July 1 and she will help find her replacement, who will need to hit the ground running this summer to develop an employee handbook to replace union contracts that expire June 30. The Waukesha School Board will vote June 8 on Hedstrom's proposed contract as assistant superintendent for human resources and labor relations. Elmbrook School Board will act on her resignation at its June 14 meeting. Hedstrom said in an interview that she was not seeking a new position, but was impressed by Waukesha school officials who approached her. "…

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Alums Return for Teacher's Last Orchestra Concert

Retiring Brookfield East High orchestra teacher Anne Marie Peterson has a few surprises as she directs her final concert.

After a quarter-century teaching orchestra at Brookfield East High School, Anne Marie Peterson is retiring and directed her final concert Wednesday night. About 95 alumni surprised Peterson — or "Miss P" as her students affectionately call her, including about 15 to 20 who came on stage to join the orchestra for a surprise performance of The Beatles' "Yesterday." Directing the piece was Paul Brenner, a violin and viola instructor at UW — Platteville who was a student in Peterson's orchestra in the early 1990s. Back then Peterson traveled to teach orchestra at both Brookfield Central, where Brenner graduated in 1994, and at East. Brenner said the alumni involvement was organized by Emma Richards, a senior who has been in Peterson's …

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Retiring Hillside Teacher is Blessed With "Forever Friends"

After teaching second graders for 42 years and creating friendships between children and elders, Sherry Power will retire June 10.

In a second-grade classroom at Hillside Elementary School, students gather in front of the teacher as she reads Dr. Seuss’ ‘Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?’ She asks her students, “What are you lucky to have?” Hands fly up and answers come quickly — including being lucky to have Bob the Spider — the arthropod that wandered into the classroom and was welcomed to stay. The teacher tells her students that she is lucky to have them in her class every day. And although the children clearly feel the same way about her, they may not fully understand how lucky they are, for they are Sherry Power’s final second-grade class. After 42 years teaching in the Elmbrook School District, Power is retiring on June 10. These second-graders almost lost…

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Elmbrook Official Says 'Angst' is Causing Jump in Teacher Retirements

About two dozen teachers are seeking to retire from the Elmbrook School District, compared to 15 last year.

About two dozen Elmbrook School District teachers have asked to retire, compared to 15 last school year, an administrator says. In recent years the number of teachers filing for retirement has been in the teens, Christine Hedstrom, assistant superintendent for human resources, said in an interview. Prior to that, Elmbrook had some years in which 30 to 40 teachers retired in a year, she added. But the approximately two dozen requests this winter has Hedstrom concerned that some teachers are asking to retire not because they really want to do so but because they are fearful of their future. "Right now there is a lot of angst," Hedstrom said. "People are afraid of the unknown, afraid that the district will wipe out everything or just cause …

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