Teacher Thankful She Found Her Passion

By CHARLOTTE FERRELL SMITH

DAILY MAIL STAFF

Melanie VanMetre did not plan to become a kindergarten teacher and took a meandering route to the job she loves.

She believes all the detours were meant to be.

“I truly believe in God’s will,” she said. “Every inch was planned. I know he used me.”

After 26 years of teaching and six years before that as a guidance counselor, VanMetre is retiring this year. She leaves while she still loves what she does.

VanMetre’s classroom at Sacred Heart Grade School is a sea of colors and activities. Children need to be occupied virtually every second and she takes care to see that is the case. She believes kindergarten teachers have the job of instilling that initial love for learning.

VanMetre, who grew up in Louisville, Ky., earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. For her bachelor’s degree, she had a double major in sociology and psychology and became certified in secondary education. She then earned a master’s in guidance counseling.

She was a social worker for six years in Bowling Green, where she met her husband, Ed.

“He went in the Army and we started moving,” she said. “We moved to St. Louis and I became a guidance counselor in a school of nursing. I had my first child. Then my husband joined a drug company and we moved to New York where I had a second baby. We lived in the middle of nowhere.”

When their son was 2 1/2 years old, she drove 25 miles each way to take him to a preschool where she became fascinated with the learning process of young children. Then her husband was transferred to Massachusetts where she remained a stay-at-home mom.

“I was home with my kids six years,” she said. “I believe that was God’s plan. I took classes in gerontology and early childhood. I got a job teaching in my children’s preschool. After four years, we moved here.”

In 1981, she began teaching preschool at First Presbyterian Church, where she had wonderful friends and mentors. She moved to the River School in 1986 and stayed until it closed in 1989.

“I loved the River School,” she said. “We had an all-day kindergarten program when nobody else had. We took 20 field trips a year and had the best of all worlds. But even with two degrees I was not certified in elementary education and early childhood.”

During the four years she taught at the River School, she also took classes at West Virginia State and earned a bachelor’s in elementary education.

In 1990, she arrived at Sacred Heart.

“I’ve been here ever since,” she said. “I never intended to teach and am now living in the sixth state since I got married. It took all those steps to become official. That was not done by accident. I had many moves and challenges to get certified. I have worked with lots of different teachers. I have been with unbelievable people all the way to learn from.

“I can’t imagine teaching another age,” she said.

“Kindergarteners are so excited about everything, so energetic, so happy and confident, and so willing to take on anything. They take in everything you tell them. They have such an enthusiasm for life. It’s a lesson we all need.”

Because the beginning of education sets the stage for lifelong learning, she believes kids must have a constant supply of fresh and exciting learning tools. Her classroom is packed with puzzles, books, blocks, artwork materials and a “bookworm” that circles the room.

The worm is made up of paper circles representing books the kids have enjoyed at home.

VanMetre has made a tradition of making a quilt each year. Students are asked to bring a piece of fabric that means something to them and the pieces are sewn together.

Other activities include beach day, pajama day, and making holiday gingerbread houses. Traditional classes are woven into a web of festivities.

VanMetre, who will turn 61 on July 9, has decided it’s time to shift gears.

She wants to spend more time with grandchildren, travel with her husband, nurture friendships and “reinvent myself.”

She and her husband have two children and two grandchildren. Their son, Ray, lives in Kentucky with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, 1 1/2-year-old Lydia. Their daughter, Meg Stallard, lives in Charleston with her husband, Todd, and their daughter, 2 1/2- year-old Sarah. They’re due to have another child any day.

The decision to retire comes deep from within, Van Metre said.

“I think you know when it’s time to go,” she said. “You don’t want to stay too long.”

Contact writer Charlotte Ferrell Smith at charlotte@dailymail.com or 348-1246.

(c) 2007 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.