MRTA honors local retired teacher

SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Jane Walter, of Conception Junction, has been named the Distinguished Retiree of the Year by the Missouri Retired Teachers Association.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Local woman, Jane Walter has been recognized by the Missouri Retired Teachers Association for service beyond the call of duty throughout her teaching career and during retirement.

Walter retired in 2009 after 31 years of teaching and serving as principal at Jefferson C-123 in Conception Junction and Westboro R-IV in Westboro, Missouri. Over the course of her career Walter said she’s enjoyed working with children. Even now, as a Title I Reading teacher, she is helping three or four children at a time each morning. Last year, she began working part time for the Jefferson school district as a Title I Reading teacher.

It wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she decided she wanted to be a teacher. She enjoyed music and thought she’d become a music teacher, but soon realized that was not her path.

She settled on elementary education and received a minor in library science from Northwest Missouri State University. Then began her career teaching third grade at Westboro. She filled in when the kindergarten teacher left and found her true calling.

“I had no idea what to do with kindergarten students, so little and attention spans so short, but it was about halfway through the school year and it all just clicked for me,” Walter said. “Kindergarten is definitely what I’m geared toward.”

Through the course of her career and continuing still, the piano tutor and reading instructor has helped the lives of at least a thousand of students she estimated.

Water said she feels a sense of satisfaction, “knowing that I’ve done my best and helped them do their best to see them make those improvements.”

She’s even been in contact online and had students reach out recalling their time in her classroom, and the regular visits from the “leprechauns.”

Sometimes in the middle of the night, Walter explained, little “leprechauns” would visit the classroom leaving little green footprints and toys strewn about. This bit of intrigue and story would help her to teach students to pick up after themselves.

“When they’re that little they don’t always remember a whole lot, but emotionalize that’s what helps them remember things,” she explained. “The leprechauns were definitely (remembered.) … Hopefully they learned a little something from it.”

Walter spent 16 years teaching and leading in Westboro, then moved to Jefferson where she spent 15 in the teaching field. Since retiring she’s stayed active, substituting and working part time, teaching piano lessons, helping with the academic team at Jefferson, observing eMINTS classrooms and serving as a Northwest Missouri State University supervisor for student teachers. She’s been a member of the MRTA since she retired in 2009 and currently serves as president of the Nodaway County Association of Retired School Employees.

Walter also is very active in her community, church, bowling league and enjoys traveling. She has hosted two foreign exchange students, Mint from Thailand and Aurora from Italy. While visiting Aurora in Italy about four years ago, she was able to attend a Mass that the Pope held in Turin. She also was able to view the Shroud of Turin, a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Many believe the image to depict Jesus of Nazareth and that the fabric is the burial shroud in which he was wrapped after crucifixion.

Traveling again, Walter will head to Jefferson City for the MRTA annual meeting and celebration banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. Her brother and sister-in-law Joe and Anita Walter, who live on the family farm near Guilford, will support her during the event. During the banquet, she plans to share a few words about the statewide recognition.

“It’s a huge honor,” said Walter. “(I’m) grateful for all the people that I’ve met. … It’s a great honor to represent our unit. We have so much going for it.”

Sue Schenkel, a NCARSE member, nominated Walter for the regional award and said she wasn’t surprised to hear she won the statewide award.

“She was the vice president when I was president for two years,” she said. “… so we worked together, went to state meetings together and we got to know each other rather well. She is so unselfish. She’ll do whatever she can for anybody.”

There are around 27,000 members in the MRTA organization. The MRTA Distinguished Retiree of the Year award has been given since 2001. Over time the criteria for nominations has changed. According to the MRTA award application, it is the “hope these changes have leveled the playing field and will encourage, reward and recognize participation.”

The annual Region I MRTA meeting is scheduled for October and will be held at the Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Conference Center.