On the last day of school, two retiring FCPS teachers sign off

Jun. 8—Frederick County Public Schools students poured out of class on Tuesday afternoon and began their summer vacations.

The Frederick News-Post spent the last day of school visiting with two veteran FCPS teachers who are retiring after decades in the profession. Below are glimpses into their days and their careers.

Teresa Stevens, Tuscarora High School, 35 years

Since the day Tuscarora High School opened in 2003, Teresa Stevens has been there.

She's taught two decades' worth of students about farming, veterinary care and horticulture. She's built an FFA chapter from scratch and inspired hundreds of teenagers from the suburbs to take an interest in agriculture.

And she's done it all from within a building that stands on what used to be her family's farm.

Stevens' grandmother, Grace Crum, was born and raised on the land that's now home to Tuscarora High and residential developments.

Standing in her classroom on Tuesday, the last official school day of her 35-year teaching career, Stevens gestured out the window. The field just outside is where Grace learned to drive a car, she said. Stevens' own mother was born in the little farmhouse that used to stand across the street.

"It's always been a special place," Stevens said, her eyes shining with tears.

Grace's family sold the farm and moved to Libertytown, which is where Stevens grew up and still lives.

Before arriving at Tuscarora, Stevens taught at Brunswick, Frederick and Linganore high schools. But when she learned in 2001 that FCPS crews would be building a school on "the old Ballenger farm," she knew she had to be there.

"I knew this is what I wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to build this agriculture program."

And she did. Stevens is leaving behind a program that's grown significantly since the school opened. She's the only ag teacher there now, but next year there will be two. Students will be able to choose from nine ag classes instead of seven.

Stevens said she was particularly proud to have facilitated such growth in a community where virtually none of the students ever lived or worked on a farm.

"Everyone needs to know about agriculture. They need to know where their food comes from," Stevens said. "It's my job to introduce them to that."

Stevens grinned as she recalled the accomplishments of former students.

In recent weeks, three seniors from her advanced horticulture class got jobs in local flower shops. She's coached kids who ended up in her class against their will, only to have them develop a passion for the subject and change their career paths.

"She instills in students a sense of pride in what they're doing," Tuscarora Principal Christopher Berry said of Stevens. "Someone will fill her position, but it will take a while to fill her shoes."

Stevens is looking forward to spending more time with her family, but she said leaving the classroom isn't easy. She decided she wanted to be a teacher when she was in the first grade, she said, and she never wavered once.

She'll miss her students deeply, she said. But she'll continue to promote agriculture however she can.

"That's in my blood," Stevens said.

Susan Rudy, Sugarloaf Elementary School, 34 years

Sue Rudy's first graders didn't have time to revel in the sentimentality of the moment. They were 7, and summer break was beginning in less than an hour.

They knew their teacher was retiring. They'd begged her to come back as a sub for the second grade.

But as they scurried through the classroom, emptying their desks and peeling the name tags off their cubbies, the thought was far from the top of their minds.

Even Rudy herself seemed relatively unfazed for most of the afternoon.

She corralled the kids with an easy grace, reading them the final story of the year and ushering them through the final craft. She helped them zip their backpacks shut and, one last time, she handed out report cards.

Maybe it would hit her later, once she'd cleaned out the classroom. Or maybe in August, when — for the first time in 34 years — she didn't come back to school.

Most of Rudy's students didn't seem to notice her voice break as she read them a poem.

"How fast the year did go!" it went. "Please come back to visit me as through the grades you grow."

Rudy had toyed with the idea of retiring for a while, she said, but she wanted to end her career with a year of normal, in-person instruction. Virtual and hybrid learning were frustrating for her, she said. She leaned on younger colleagues who were better with technology.

She left work in tears on the third day of last school year, she recalled. She was having trouble sharing her screen. A bunch of students couldn't access the virtual math lesson she'd set up.

She wasn't used to feeling out of her element. Rudy had been teaching elementary school in Frederick County for more than three decades by the time the pandemic hit.

She started her career at Liberty Elementary, the same school she attended as a child. Over the years, Rudy also taught at New Market, Myersville and Urbana elementary schools. She enjoyed different things about each grade level she taught.

"First graders are very loving," Rudy said. She smiled, and added: "You tie a lot of shoes."

She's looking forward to plenty of things about retirement. Her husband is building her a front porch where she hopes to put a rocking chair, and she'll have more time to spend with her grandchildren. She's never been farther west than central Indiana, so she's considering a road trip to San Francisco.

But she'll miss the kids.

A handful of the children rushed at Rudy for a hug before bounding out the door when their bus was called for dismissal. Many didn't, too excited to even spare a look back.

"Have a good summer," she called to each of them.

The classroom emptied slowly. Eventually, Rudy sat alone at her desk.

"I just hope they know that I was trying to do the best for them," she said through tears. "And that they're all special."

Follow Jillian Atelsek on Twitter: @jillian_atelsek