The average student in TCAPS will have about 48 teachers during their schooling. Every year, each one of these teachers will get a new set of students to teach and prepare for the world. In Michigan, teachers are required to teach for thirty years before retiring. This year, Jody Thompson, Deborah Prichard, Matthew Dumon and Dan Rice are retiring from teaching at West. Thompson began teaching with TCAPS right out of college and has been teaching for 25 years. 

  “I have 25 years in and then the state of Michigan used to offer an opportunity to buy up to five years. So I bought five years when I was a second year teacher, and that gives me my full 30 years, so I’ll retire with full benefits,” Thompson said.

  Along with Thompson, Rice, who has been teaching for 32 years, feels that the educating chapter of his life has come to close. Prichard has also met the state requirements for teaching, Dumon, on the other hand, has a different reason for retiring.

  “My decision to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year started somewhat as a joke. Many years ago I facetiously suggested that it would be fun to ‘graduate’ with my son Noah, who is a senior this year. Then, this half-baked notion became a real plan that I decided to follow through with since I feel ready to move on to new experiences in life,” Dumon said.

  When they retire, the soon-to-be former educators have similar plans on what they want to do first.

  “My first priority in retirement is to travel. I’ve always enjoyed seeing new places and experiencing other cultures and languages. Being retired will give me the opportunity to travel whenever I want. My first big trip will be [to] Iceland. I’ll be there the first two weeks of September,” Rice said.

  Traveling outside of the country is exciting, but inside the U.S. there are some amazing places soon to be seen by Thompson who also looks forward to more travel throughout her retirement.

  “First thing I’m going to do is I’m kind of taking a celebratory trip, I’m going to Zion National Park in June after school gets out, so that will be fun. And then I just hope to spend some more time with my nieces and nephews after I retire,” Thompson said.

  Besides travel, many new retirees start new hobbies or expand and devote more time to old ones.

  “I’d like to say that I’m looking forward to spending more time wakeboarding, kitesurfing and practicing parkour, but my hobbies are more ‘old guy’ stuff. Besides traveling, I enjoy woodworking, painting and reading. It will be nice to have more time for those things, and maybe I’ll pick up some new ones – like trainspotting or extreme ironing?” Rice said.

  Many of the teachers retiring this year have plans for what they want to do in retirement, but without having a job free time can be scheduled at the leisure of the individual. Without a specific schedule, the retirees can take time to relax without a specific goal in mind.

  “I am going to be able to travel more and see my kids […] We want to be on the lake, on the water, nothing else specific,” Prichard said. 

  Since some of these teachers are retiring on the younger side, some hope to find a part time or new job in their retirement. 

  “I will definitely transition to a new job. I am not sure what I am going to do yet, which is a little scary, but it likely will not be as demanding, fun or rewarding as teaching. My dream job would be a rodeo clown in New Mexico, so hopefully that works out for me,” Dumon said.

  Even with all the new exciting possibilities in these teachers’ futures, they all still had a good time teaching at West and will miss many aspects of educating young minds.

  “The most memorable and rewarding part of my teaching career would be the ASD Mentoring class. This class brings together mentors (general education students) with peers who have severe autism. The mentors work directly with their peers three to four times a week – helping them improve their social and communication skills. It’s unlike any other class at West, and over the years, I have seen incredible connections made in this class,” Rice said.

  While students provide many memories for the retirees, the community of teachers also provides valuable memories.

  “The students and staff here have always treated me with kindness and generosity, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with so many inspiring people,” Dumon said.

  Over the years, West has had many incredible educators and the retirees this year realize that the teachers are what make West a good school.

 “It’s been awesome. You guys are really lucky ‘cause you have a really caring and really, just a really awesome staff,” Prichard said.