Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #53 2026 Retirees-Kaup, Adams, McKeough

Transcript

Episode #53 2026 Retirees-Kaup, Adams, McKeough · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: Hello, and welcome to the recess podcast.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: Alan Spicci, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: We've got a special episode of the Recess today.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Every year I interview our graduating seniors, uh, and we choose one from each of our high schools to be on the podcast.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I love those.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: We have amazing students who are some of my favorite guests all year.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I love hearing about their journey and you know, re reminiscing about their great teachers and what's ahead, uh, just hearing about their future.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's a great way to wrap the year and uh just brings a sense of joy and uh makes me honestly very proud to be the superintendent here.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we got to enjoy those over the last uh four episodes.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: And if you haven't had a chance to listen to them, I really encourage you to do.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Each kid has a really different and interesting story.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think you'll enjoy them.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: This year we thought it'd be fun to hear from some of our retiring staff as they move into their next chapter of their lives.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: You might say they're graduating.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh today I'm interviewing Auburn High retiring journalism and digital photography teacher Tom Cowp, retiring transition assistants recall the TAP program teacher Audrey Adams, and retiring Lakeland Hills kindergarten teacher Kim McKeo.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: These three teachers have more than 123 years of combined teaching experience.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: This is gonna be a great episode as they share their words of wisdom for future educators and share their plans for retirement.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: So please join me in welcoming and and hearing the story of three fantastic educators who are retiring from the Auburn School District.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Let's get started with Tom Kalp.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome, Tom.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I have enjoyed it knowing Tom uh really, I think, from the get-go.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think you were probably one of the first teachers I was fortunate to meet when I started in in 2015.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but you've been in Auburn School District since 2007, I think all at Auburn High, correct?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: R briefly, what did you do before you came here?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, this is my 41st year of teaching.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: I taught in Nebraska and in Iowa, and then in 2007 moved to the Pacific Northwest uh because my partner at the time got a job at a great bank called Washington Mutual.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_03: And uh they moved us out here and then had financial problems, but we still got moved here and it was a great, greatest thing, greatest experience.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_03: I've loved it here ever since.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we're really thrilled that that worked out for Auburn School District and for our many students.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I've met some of your graduates who are now working in like school district communications or other fields, um, and they always speak so um fondly of you, and and I really enjoyed getting to know you through some of the advocacy that you've done to promote journalism and uh you know student freedom of speech um throughout the state, and I know you won a big award for that nationally, so it's been a great ride.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh well, and Tom, just to be clear, because I know not everybody uh knows Tom yet, but you will.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Tom teaches journalism and digital photography at Auburn High School, and that includes the newspaper and the yearbook, correct?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, the newspaper is more of a club now, um, but the yearbook is still a class.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a lot of work.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Anybody who's familiar with that, a lot of deadlines, and uh it's it's an amazing opportunity for students to take on responsibility and do some real grown-up work.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: And you often see Tom out with his student photographers at events and things like that.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: So um we're gonna miss you, but we're gonna get to know you a little better before we do.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: So um I'm gonna start with the first question on the Recess podcast.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_02: Who is your favorite teacher and why?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: My favorite teacher was the only lay person in our little Catholic grade school.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_03: Her name was Miss Creesel, and the reason she was my favorite teacher is that she was very uh back in the, this is back in the 1960s, very hands-on and very project-oriented, which was very different uh back then.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um I remember that when we studied the effects of erosion, we actually built a river, a little river in our classroom in the back.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_03: And then it was really exciting.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_03: We all stood around and watched as the she poured the water and then had to take notes on the effects of erosion on the different soils she had put in.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_03: So it was it was really cool, and she was like that with many things, um, very hands-on and always very active.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm always fascinated by the stories people tell and how it tends to invariably connect to what they've done as a teacher, whatever career they're in.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you have a very uh kind of a hands-on, active program yourself.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes, very project-based.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'm not much I did start in the back when I started teaching, it was chalkboards and a lot of lectures.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_03: But um I'm really glad to have metamorphosed into more of a project-based and student-directed learning rather than teacher all teacher directed.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's really cool.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: You've done it really well.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: I have really admired how students have connected with you and looked up to you and you know, really felt seen and comfortable in your class.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think you'd be a great person to answer this next question.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: What have you learned from your students over the years?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_03: First thing that came to my mind was I have learned to be patient and understanding.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's I think it's real important as a teacher to know that they come in with their life experiences, and so as soon as they enter in my classroom, they are coming in with a lot of background and a lot of information and a lot of emotions that they bring with them.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_03: And it's my I've learned from students to honor that and to really accept them where they're coming from.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_03: And some days, just like with adults, some days they're in great moods, and other days it's a little bit tougher.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so I try to uh to to take note of that.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, a really funny thing when I taught in middle school in Nebraska, I one day said to my students, my middle school, eighth graders, I I think you should have a forecast of my mood.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_03: So when I come in, you know what I'm feeling.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: And so a little girl drew a weather chart, and it was like a cloudy day when I was tired, and then a sunny day when I came in happy, and I used that all year, and they would always ask me, What's your mood for today?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: So it was really a good lesson in um how we what we bring into the classroom from outside does affect it.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: And judging by the smile on your face, it's it's uh sunny today in August.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_03: Very much so.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: Good.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: I want to hear what you're looking forward to in retirement in a minute, but before we do that, what advice would you give to new educators from your 41 years of experience in the field?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: I think the advice I would give is to really um make sure you have a strong uh boundary life and make sure you take care of yourself.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_03: The job is so wonderful, and you know, if you're going to do it well, it just requires lots of time and lots of hours.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_03: But and also to remember the the joy and the the uniqueness every single student brings, and you never know what you're going to unlock in a student.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I've always found it really interesting when they come back to me and say, Oh my, uh really appreciated it when you said this or when we did this in class or uh those kinds of things.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_03: So just and never never um ever give in to the the tough times because they'll be there just like with any any job, but the the rewards are far more than than anything in in education.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_02: That's beautiful.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh couldn't have said it better myself.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so uh we're we're recording this a few weeks before graduation, uh, but pretty soon it'll be your graduation, Tom.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: What are you most looking forward to in retirement?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_03: I'm most looking forward to my uh third cup of uh English breakfast tea in the morning uh and not having to keep my eye on the clock as I I get off to school.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a very early riser being a farm kid, so I like to get to school between 5.30 and 5.45 uh and um get all my work done in the morning, all my grading and stuff.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_03: But it'll be nice to be able to sit back and just say, Oh, I can have another cup of tea and and wait for the morning shows to start and um enjoy that that time with the dog and just being home.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: That is beautiful, and I think uh we can all identify with with just that that feeling of peace that uh someday maybe we'll all make it there.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm excited that you'll be making it there just in a few weeks.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh I I I hope you stay in touch because I've I've really enjoyed knowing you, Tom.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna wrap this portion up with the question I ask all my guests at the end.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: What was your favorite recess activity?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the merry go round.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and this was uh back in our little elementary school.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: It was uh made out of wood and it was on a um uh metal structure.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: We didn't wear helmets and we went as fast as that thing would go, and sometimes flew off into the dirt, and it was it was both exciting and probably a little bit too dangerous, but uh yeah, that was my favorite.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: I've found that uh a number of my guests have been part of ruining it for the younger generations where they don't get to do the real fun stuff uh that are a little bit on the edge of uh danger.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: But uh that sounds really fun.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: When's the last time you're on a merry-go-round?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_03: Uh think was on there with one of my great nieces, uh, but what is one of those really slow horse ones at the state fair, which was much more uh much more to my abilities these days.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Nice.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you're gonna have some free time, so you might want to go find one.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Tom, uh on behalf of everybody here and our whole community, the Auburn High School community, uh, thank you for your many years of service in Auburn and 41 uh years overall in education.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_03: You're welcome.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't think of a better district to work for and a better district to retire from.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_03: I'm very happy.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_03: It's been a very great experience.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Tom.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: Joining me now is Audrey Adams, and she is a teacher in our transition assistance program.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: We call it TAP.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, she can tell us about it in just a moment.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: But it serves uh many of our uh students with disabilities, age 18 to 22, and is just a really fun and vibrant place.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I call it a place, but it's a program that's out in the community and everything.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: And uh Audrey and an amazing staff and many great pairs make that happen for us.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: So uh let's bring you in right now.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: Audrey, welcome.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh Audrey, tell us about the TAP program real quick.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the transition assistance program has been around for I'm gonna say 15 years, I think.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think it was actually started by um Barb Knapp and Elaine Hogg out of Auburn High School.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: And we work with 18 to 22-year-olds on transition skills, on what comes next after high school, how do we get a job, how do we access the community, how do you ride a bus?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: I want to learn to do my own laundry, how do I do that?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: So we work on all of those fun things.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: And you've been in Auburn School District since 2018.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: All of that time in the TAP program?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: All of the time in the TAP program, yes.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: Briefly, what what led you to Auburn and what did you do beforehand?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: What led me to Auburn was Jeff Gardner.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I followed him.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he brought me in and he was principal at Auburn High School.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Before that, I was at Bonnie Lake High School, where Jeff was my uh supervising principal for my first two years there.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Before that, I did a year in Las Vegas at Clark County Schools.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I did time at Chief Leshi Schools, the tribal school in Puala.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: I did time at private Christian school, Christian Faith School for seven years, and Jehoma Public Schools.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I've had private, public, and tribal schools.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: What a great, interesting career.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: It has been.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: How many years is that up to altogether, Abi Kenneth?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's 43 and like six months.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I was hired as a mid-year maternity leave replacement in February of 1983.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: Good for you.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Forty-three and a half years.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: That's wonderful, and we're glad that you're ending up in Auburn.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's been the best.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: Good.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, I have a few questions that I'm asking a few of our retirees, uh, your colleagues, and we're gonna start with the one that I ask all my guests.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: Who was your favorite teacher and why?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my favorite teacher, her name was Joan Murphy.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I met Joan in middle school math at Truman Junior High School in Tacoma, Washington, and she was my math teacher.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: And uh when I moved up to uh what was Wilson High School in Tacoma, uh, she was transferred up to Wilson High School.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And Joan was I don't want to cry.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Joan was just, she believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: She absolutely believed I could do it.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And the only class I ever got a D in in my entire life was Algebra II.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: She told me you got to take it again.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I did.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: I got a B minus the second time, but um, she just believed in me and she supported me when I started teaching.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: She was the first person who was there in my classroom helping me set it up.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: She supported me financially at college.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: It was a tough go for me for a number of extenuating circumstances, and I would get checks from Joan in the mail.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Take care of your bills, take care of this, go take yourself and get more food at the grocery store.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And she was just a significant person in my life.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: That is so touching.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what a great story and great connection.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: It was lovely.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: And she very interesting, she was a nun for years.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: She I called her a nunny bunny, and she jumped the wall at Vatican II because you only say Mass in Latin.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so she jumped the wall.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: She was a teacher in Oregon at a private school.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: And then when Vatican II happened, she jumped the wall and taught public school for the rest of her life.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's it's clear she's made a difference in your life personally and professionally.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: She did.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what a wonderful story.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so you had some like amazing, wild, funny, lovely students at Tap, and I've gotten to know quite a few over the years.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: What have you learned from your students over the years?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think the biggest thing that as an educator you learn from your students is the joy of learning.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: They just, no matter what it is, I have I have taught kindergarten through age 22, special ed, general ed.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: I've been an athletic director, I've been a high school coach and a junior high coach, and it is it is thrilling to see the love of learning no matter how it is, um, whether it's on a court or in a classroom or in the community, and that moment when they have that aha that's like, I get it.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that is just the most beautiful moment.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: I just love that.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_02: No wonder uh Jeff must have recruited you a little bit because you have so much range.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think he could have filled a lot of jobs we had.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: He did recruit me.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that's wonderful.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's easy sometimes to to get to a point where you you lose the wonder and to be around kids and to just see it and then realize that it's alive in all of us.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a really cool story.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: I love that that just that little moment of like, oh, I get it.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, good for you.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um what advice would you give to new teachers?
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is a good question.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: I've been reflecting in some Facebook posts honoring some people who are supportive of me.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: And the what my first post was about my mentor when I started, his name was Mike Preto, and um Mike just told me, Go with your gut, go with your gut, you're doing great.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: And one day he probably a week into teaching, he walked caught me going out to my car with this huge box of papers to grade, and I mean huge.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: And he stopped me, he walked me back into the classroom, he carried the box, he put it down on the table, and he goes, That will be there tomorrow.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: You need to go home.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: You need to be with your family, you need to relax.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I think as a brand new educator, I just remember I thought I had to be perfect, and you don't have to be perfect.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: You you have to try, you have to work your hardest every single day and then leave it and go home and enjoy the rest of your life.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, you don't you don't refresh your own soul and you don't get a break.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: It it's such a challenging profession, and you do carry a lot.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I think of what Joan carried of you, right?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously she cared so much and invested in you, and and you're doing that for your students, but you have to do that for yourself.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and this is a marathon, and to get to 43 years, uh you have to strike that balance.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, sometimes we use the analogy of the airplane where you have to get your mask on before you assist others.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's true, you have to take care of yourself and be able to bring your energy the next day.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um so glad I'm glad Mike intercepted you in the parking lot and talking about lessons.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am grateful for that.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so easy to get caught up, you know, I gotta do this, I gotta do this.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And you if you don't take care of yourself, and it's a lesson you can say, oh, I'll I'll put that off.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'll put that off, right?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so if you can get that lesson, that's good.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Very good.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: We're recording just before graduation.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and this will air probably right around graduation, and it'll be your graduation.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: What are you looking forward to in retirement?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: I have over the last six years really invested some time in myself and recently become a certified Pilates teacher.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so I have been teaching for the last three months Pilates on the weekends, and I'm really looking forward to being able to have a little more flexibility in my own personal practice and then also in teaching.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then you're looking at a long-term substitute for next year.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be love to hear that.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Justine McDonald, who is one of our TAP teachers, is going on maternity leave on Monday, and her baby's due in June, and I'm going to be subbing her maternity leave for her.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you'll be back in the fall, probably.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be back in the fall.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will be there until about Christmas break.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: Good.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh anybody looking for a good Pilates class, uh, look up Audrey.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, in Puala, uh body and soul.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, there you go.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: Free advertising, the wide reach of the recess podcast.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us, uh, thinking way back to your elementary school times, what was your favorite recess activity?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this is the one question that kind of threw me for a loop.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, what did I do?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we had monkey bars.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: I do remember real monkey bars, right?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: And we would spin on the monkey bars.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I remember doing that.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: I also I was a big library girl.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: So when we got a break, I would go to the library and get a new book, you know, and uh check it out with the you know, remember that where they used to stamp the book.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you had to sign your name for the book, and so I would do that quite a bit and uh help the teacher.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: I like to play school.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then you became the teacher.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: There you go, yeah.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: Full circle.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Good for you.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: And now you're teaching Pilates and uh and you're gonna help out uh your colleague and and help out the district, so we appreciate that.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's been really wonderful getting to know you, and I had no idea like all of the varied experiences you've had.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_02: And uh what did you coach?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: I coached uh high school volleyball for 23 years.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's fantastic.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was fun.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: So uh you've had some great wisdom and great reflection and really made a difference with our kids.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: And all of our staff and our community.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: The tap community is beautiful.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: All the parents, you know, they root for all the kids and the staff.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I just love it.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: And we will miss you, but uh maybe we'll see you around a little bit as well.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: You will see me around.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: And my plug is everybody comed to the tap variety show, which is next year in February.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's the best event.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: I was there this year's and it is I had heard it was good and they undersold it.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: It was so fun.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_02: There was really an opportunity for every single student to contribute and have their moment.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and there was just so much joy.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: It was so great.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: It was beautiful.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for coming.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, my pleasure.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, Audrey Adams, teacher in our TAP program, thank you so much.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Congratulations and enjoy retirement.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: And our third teacher for today's episode is Kim McKeo.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_02: Kim is a kindergarten teacher, uh, retiring from Lakeland Hills Elementary, and she has been in the Auburn School District since 2001.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, Kim, welcome to the podcast.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I've really uh enjoyed having known you for pretty much my whole time in Auburn.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I first heard of you many, many years before because our good friends uh their daughter was in your first class at Lakeland Hills, and I think their son also had you, and they raved about Miss McKeel.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I was so excited to meet you, and uh then I've I've been able to be in your class and just get to know you over the years.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: So um really fun to do this in the podcast format.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um tell us how long have you been in education overall?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Overall, 39 years.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: 39 years.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: So briefly, um, before you came to Auburn, uh, what was your journey?
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: So directly out of college, I was a substitute teacher in Spokane.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And um one of the uh loves that I had was teaching primary.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: I taught a lot of primary um days.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of my journey in Spokane, I taught homeless kids, children who lived in shelters um run by Spokane Public Schools in a K through eight setting.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not, I was responsible for the fourth through eighth grade group of kids, which was wonderful, really wonderful.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then I moved to Seattle and uh got a teaching job over in Central Kitsap School District and took the Bremerton Ferry for a year and a half back and forth every day.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I taught first grade for four years, and then taught kindergarten for uh six years over there before I was married in 2001 and moved to Auburn.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been here for 25 years, started out at Alpac for five years, and then moved to Lakeland where I finish.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: What a wonderful journey and uh nice uh concise recap of a lot of steps.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of steps.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: I've heard uh the the expanded version is fascinating.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: The school in Spokane, uh, you had so much turnover.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: You said virtually every day was a new classroom.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and that must have been challenging, but also probably sharpened you as a teacher.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: It it did.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: It I remember the very first day when I was asked to teach and come and just check it out and see if I wanted to teach there, I was asked, and I I felt the need and that there was a need and a calling for me to be there, and it was it was difficult, but I I thrived in it, and then they wanted to keep a substitute, and I was ready to move and not be a long-term substitute any longer.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: And well, it was ultimately Auburn's game, and it's been a great ride, and um, we're happy for you retiring, but we're really gonna miss you.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I'm gonna start out the questions with the one I ask every guest.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: Who is your favorite teacher and why?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my favorite teacher, I have many, and it's kind of hard when it's been a long time ago.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I think my first grade teacher was my favorite, and her name was Miss Epling.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the first thing that comes to my mind is she was absolutely beautiful, and she wore pastel dresses that matched her shoes, and she carried herself so well.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but in the classroom she had the most warm smile, and we did art, and yet at the same time, she was no nonsense.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of think that's what describes me as a teacher is no nonsense, but a sense of warmth for children.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: It was just so vivid hearing you recall uh Miss Epling's dress, personality, approach to teaching.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that's really cool.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: It made a big impression on you, and obviously it stuck uh as as you have uh become her personification in the classroom.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: You've had a lot of students.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, at your retirement party, I believe you said you taught over a thousand students.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: What have you learned from your students over the years?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think again, I it really goes back to uh that time when I was in Spokane.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: And these were children that came from very difficult home situations, and yet they still had a desire to learn.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I I feel that all children truly have a desire to learn.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna be knuckleheads and they're gonna be crazy, and yet all kids want boundaries, they want to know what your expectations are, but at the same time, laugh with them and hug them and love on them.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And all kids need that to some degree every single day.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what I take with me.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Give them a good foundation to love learning.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: That's beautiful.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: I would guess that you've had a number of student teachers along the way.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a few.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_02: And you've helped uh probably more than a few teachers break into the profession.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_02: What advice would you give to new educators from your 39 years of experience and wisdom?
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Teaching isn't easy.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And people think the kindergarten is oh, that's an easy grade.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's so hard.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: We just make it look easy because we have expectations for them.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the biggest thing.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: You need to have expectations, you need to have solid transitions, you need to think ahead of the kids.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in any grade, you've got to stay one day ahead of the kids.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I it's school's got to be fun.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of work that goes on with kids, and they need the fun somehow mixed into it, whether or not it's you've got everybody has their own gift and talent and bring that to the classroom.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: I've always admired how you do, you know, keep a high standard and expectations, but do that with love and with fun.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: Your students talk about the the butterfly.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_02: You want to just share that for a minute?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_02: Because I've heard more than one of your now 20-something, you know, young people who think back to when they were five and heard about the butterfly.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Every year since I have taught kindergarten, and this is the end of 31 years, minus the year of 2020 when we left for that terrible time.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is the only class of children that did not have a caterpillar.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I have always consistently felt that children in kindergarten especially are like these little caterpillars that eat and eat and eat all this knowledge, and they come as these itty bitty little babies at the beginning of the year and like hurting cats and kittens.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: And they grow before your very eyes.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so I give the children a little caterpillar in their own cup to have on their table, and we do research with them and we learn a lot of things about caterpillars and the life cycle of the butterfly.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: And before you know it, they've made their chrysalis, just like the chrysalis happened this last weekend, and they are now anxiously awaiting their butterfly to emerge, and we will let them go the last week of school, just like these kindergarten kids are now ready to fly off to first grade.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really a beautiful experience, and kids absolutely treasure it.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: What a brilliant metaphor and just so memorable for the students.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: You can you can tell why they still speak of it.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for sharing that story.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you are also about to fly off into retirement.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_02: What are you most looking forward to?
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um well, I I tease the kids um that I'm going to actually can't wait for uh sleeping in, eating breakfast late, drinking coffee, and staying in my jammies until two o'clock.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, they all laugh and think that's hilarious.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but beyond drinking my coffee later into the morning, my husband, who has recently retired from Alaska Airlines after 41 years in February.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: So the two of us are going out at the same time, and we are looking forward to spontaneous adventures and travel.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, we've already lined up several trips and we have several more uh planned.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I think traveling and seeing places that we haven't and enjoying our time together.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: That sounds amazing.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm guessing uh your your husband's uh career will bring some uh options and opportunities for you.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it's it's pretty exciting, I would imagine, that you're both hitting this milestone together and can hit the ground running on travel and and whatever you have.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: And uh and if you spend a day or two drinking coffee in your pajamas or two, uh that is completely your right.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: You have earned it.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: We're just so thankful for everything you've done for for kids and for the district and and being a part of our our wonderful school community at Lakeland Hills and look ahead to some wonderful times for you.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I I do hope I see you around.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I'm going to close with the question we end all recess episodes with.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_02: What was your favorite recess activity?
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh two activities um that are no longer on playgrounds.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the first one is the merry-go-round, and where you would have to run and run and run and spin, spin, spin, spin, spin so fast.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we loved that one.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: And and then the other one was the teeter-totter.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: I loved the teeter-totter and all the rhymes that we would say with it.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's part of the reason why I have a lot of movement as I stand or talk or sit still.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think those were helpful in my movement um back in my early years.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I always encourage my guests to get out there and play.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's still okay, even as an adult.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: Be careful, don't pull something.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_02: But um uh sometimes we think play is for kids, and uh no, life should be fun.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: And now the world is your playground.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I I'm just really excited for you being able to do your travel and uh see your family and all the great things you get to do in retirement.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_02: Kim McKeo, uh kindergarten teacher from Lakeland Hills, thank you for being my guest on the Recess Podcast.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a pleasure.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_02: Congratulations to all three teachers and to our other retiring staff as they begin the next part of their journey.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we thank you so much for your contributions to our our kids and our whole community and just wish you all the best in retirement.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: That is a wrap for this year's episodes of the recess podcast.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh season three has been so much fun.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm excited to share.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: We've had over 8,500 downloads of the recess podcast in our three years.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh at first I thought it might just be my mom, but thank you for sharing the podcast and helping us get the word out about the great things happening in the Auburn School District.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: We'll be back in the fall with behind the scenes looks at the people who make Auburn such a wonderful school district that I'm so proud of.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody have a fantastic summer.