15-05-2025
Boyden-Hull School District sends off three, retiring teachers with celebration
HULL, Iowa (KCAU) — Friends, family, and co-workers gathered in the Boyden-Hull High School commons on Wednesday to celebrate the careers of three colleagues who are retiring at the end of the school year. Heide Willer, Julie Visscher and John Olson are all retiring, each with over 30-years of teaching experience.
'I became a grandma this year and have two little grandbabies, and my daughter's husband is getting deployed to Syria, so I wanted to be able to be there for her with her baby,' explained Heide Willer, retiring after teaching first grade at Boyden-Hull for 36 years.
'We co-teach together, and we decided that we came in together, we're going to leave together. It would be very difficult for either one of us to actually start co-teaching with somebody new in our history and English class together,' said John Olson, the Boyden Hull High School social studies teacher of 34 years.
'I had a grand-baby as well, and I had some other health concerns in our extended family and thought, 'I'm struggling with who do I give attention to – my job or my family,' and I decided I could end this struggle,' expressed Julie Visscher, language arts teacher of 34 years.
Over the years, all three have seen big changes in education. One of the biggest hurdles: technology.
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'We started out writing the notes on the board to now using computers and smart boards,' remarked Olson.
'We did not have telephones in our rooms when we started, didn't have TVs, didn't have computers. We had computers, just not in our rooms, not personal computers,' recalled Visscher.
With these three retiring, it's going to be hard for the school district to replace that much experience.
'I think there's a lot of emotion. Obviously, we're sad. That's 104 years of experience walking out the door, and it's just not experience, it's good experience. We're also excited that people ended up getting to this point. They served the district incredibly well, and so we're excited for them to see what the next part of the journey holds,' said Boyden-Hull School District Superintendent Steve Grond.
As all three step away, they all agree on what they will miss the most: the kids.
'The people and the kids. The staff and all the kids,' said Olson.
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'Working together for something bigger than ourselves. We're raising, not raising kids, but growing kids. Taking them and teaching them, making them better and learn more. Ready to go out in the world,' explained Visscher.
The three still have a week to go as the school year at Boyden-Hull ends next Thursday, but then it's off to the world of retirement.
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