West Carrollton Board of Education Honors Retirees

By From staff reports

WEST CARROLLTON — On June 6, the West Carrollton Board of Education honored 11 retiring staff members who served a combined 293 years in the WCSD and 332 years in education.

They were: Carol Eggert, Don Flory, Carolyn Kline, Rita Miller, Monte Murrell, Violet Pressley, Lois Reed, Diane Shirley, Christa Sprinkel, Lynn Vogt and Karen Young. Each received an engraved bell and a Pirate Pride Award.

– Eggert retired from her position as a specific learning disabilities teacher at C.F. Holliday Elementary School.

She graduated from Ridgewood High School in New Jersey. After moving to the Dayton area, she worked as a school secretary in Centerville City Schools and at La Petite Academy preschool from 1977 to 1988.

In 1988, inspired by personal experience, she received her degree in elementary education from Wright State University. After working as a program analyst for Systems Research Labs, she was hired by West Carrollton Schools as an LD tutor in 1995.

Eggert has been known for her positive encouragement, her concern for students’ success and her work to make inclusion successful. She has said: “There is nothing more satisfying that the look on a child’s face that comes with new learning challenges and successes.”

– Flory retired from the physical education department and is best known for his tenure at West Carrollton Middle School.

He graduated from Lanier High School in West Alexandria in 1964. He attended Capital University receiving a degree in sociology in 1968. He moved to Chicago where he attended Northeastern Illinois University and Concordia Teachers College. He taught for three years in the inner city while also earning his masters’ degree in education.

Flory came to West Carrollton Junior High School in 1972 as a math teacher. He was known for his enthusiasm for his subject and his rapport with students as well as his willingness to provide support for his building. He was also known for using real life examples to teach math.

In 1997, he took on the fresh challenge of teaching physical education at what is now the Middle School. In the past year, he added trips to several elementary schools to his repertoire and has been a valued member of the PE staff.

– Kline retired from her position as a secretary at West Carrollton Middle School.

She graduated in 1959 from West Carrollton High School where she became an accomplished violinist. She served as vice president of the orchestra and was named to regional and all-state orchestras as a senior.

After graduating, she took accounting classes at Sinclair Community College and became the bookkeeper for Gastineau Brothers hardware and furniture business in West Carrollton. Meanwhile, she continued to play the violin with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

When Gastineau Brothers sold a large portion of its business to Roberds, Kline came to work for West Carrollton Schools as a substitute in 1979 and in a permanent position in 1981. She continued to perform bookkeeping work from her home.

She has played violin in the orchestra pit for 25 West Carrollton High School musicals and also plays in the orchestra at her church, First Baptist of Kettering. She also has two daughters who are alumni of West Carrollton High School.

– Miller retired from her position running the library at West Carrollton Middle School.

She is a 1963 graduate of Miamisburg High School and a former beautician with the Cinderella Beauty Salon in West Carrollton. Her love of books and libraries began before she finished high school when she worked in the Miamisburg Public Library. That love has translated into a reputation for matching students and books and for integrating technology into the libraries where she has worked.

Miller worked as a library aide at Bear Elementary School in Miamisburg from 1981 to 1992 earning her associate’s degree in 1989. She took a leave of absence to earn her teaching certificate from Miami University and completed her student teaching requirements in the library at Tower Heights Middle School. She was hired at West Carrollton Junior High School in 1993. In 1996, she earned her master’s degree from Wright State University.

Each of her principals praised her, in particular, for her work to introduce and integrate automation into the libraries and for making the library a focal point of the school. She has also volunteered at Cox Arboretum and is known for her gardening skills.

– Murrell retired after a long career with West Carrollton Schools during which he has been best known as a teacher and counselor at West Carrollton Middle School.

He is a 1966 graduate of Miamisburg High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1972 from Miami University. He was hired in 1972 to teach science at West Carrollton Junior High School, where he had completed his student teaching.

A veteran of the Ohio National Guard, he also coached football, track and tennis. In 1993, he became a guidance counselor at what is now the Middle School. He developed a reputation for career planning, working with grade level teams, problem-solving skills and rapport with students.

In the past year, Murrell has worked with students at the Walter Shade Early Childhood Center and Frank Nicholas Elementary School while maintaining his relationships with colleagues at the Middle School.

– Pressley retired from her position as head cook at Harold Schnell Elementary School.

She is a graduate of Stebbins High School and resident of West Carrollton. She began working in West Carrollton Schools in 1981 as a substitute. A year later, she was hired as a cashier and in 1990 became a full-time cook. In 1998, she was promoted to head cook at Schnell.

During her years in the district, she was known for her positive attitude, her enthusiasm and for working well with her colleagues.

– Reed is retiring from her position as a bus aide with the transportation department.

She is a graduate of Hoel High School and resident of West Carrollton. She began working in West Carrollton Schools as a playground aide at Walter Shade Elementary School in 1980 and became a bus aide in 1985.

The drivers with whom she worked closely described her as having an excellent rapport with their young passengers. She has retired to become a full time grandmother.

– Shirley retired from her position as a third grade teacher at Harold Schnell Elementary School.

She is a 1966 graduate of Broad Ripple High School in Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in 1970 and taught fifth grade for three years at Eldon Ready Elementary School in Griffith, Ind.

In 1974, she joined the staff at Harold Schnell Elementary School and has taught fifth grade, second grade and third grade, as well as one year in a second/third grade combination class. In 1977, she earned her master’s degree from the University of Dayton.

She has been described as a fine role model with a great deal of charisma and the ability to rise to challenges. Shirley “cares about the total child” and has been part of a “dynamic group of professionals representing the highest ideals of teaching.”

– Sprinkel retired from her position as the multi-handicapped teacher at Harold Schnell Elementary School.

She is a native of Germany, where she graduated high school in 1962 and attended the University of Frankfurt. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1995.

Sprinkel worked as a teacher’s assistant for 10 years in the Centerville City Schools. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dayton in 1987 and was hired at Schnell. She is known for her warm and gracious personality, her quiet and magnetic confidence and her Thanksgiving dinners.

She found her niche working with multi-handicapped students and earned the DOER Award from the Dayton Area Citizens Committee for Special Education in 1990. Her interest in the betterment of each child’s education has been apparent in every endeavor.

– Vogt retired from her position as secretary to the principal at West Carrollton Middle School.

She is a 1961 graduate of Miamisburg High School who attended Otterbein College. She worked at home raising five children until 1978 when she became a part-time secretary for West Carrollton attorney Louis Tracy.

In 1979, she began working at West Carrollton Junior High School as a substitute secretary under principal Willard Frush. A year later, she became the new secretary to new principal David Weekley working through double sessions, over crowding, yearround sessions and extensive renovations to the district’s oldest building.

Since then, she has worked with principals Richard Hensley, Augie Herman, Valerie Browning and John Runzo. In retirement, she plans to continue her dedicated involvement at Parkview United Methodist Church and to travel and camp with her husband, who retired from teaching music.

Vogt’s daughter Teri Wolff is a fourth-grade teacher at Harold Schnell Elementary School, her daughter Michele Turner is a sixth grade teacher at the Middle School and her daughter-in-law Jenny Vogt is an learning disabilities teacher at Harry Russell.

– Young retired from her position as a third-grade teacher at Harold Schnell Elementary School.

She is a 1968 graduate of Fairmont East High School. She attended Otterbein College for two years and then completed her bachelor’s degree at Miami University in 1972. She was hired that year to teach second grade at Schnell.

In 1977, she earned her master’s degree from the University of Dayton and in 1990 switched to teaching third grade.

Young has been part of a team of “teachers who are exemplary educators and have a passion for teaching which is contagious.” With colleagues Diane Shirley, Jenny McDougall and Carol Stotts, she created an overnight program for third graders called “Pioneer Night” among many team accomplishments.

She is described as a master teacher who “radiates a personal enthusiasm and positive attitude which makes learning a pleasant experience for students.”

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