Aug. 4 marked the beginning of the school year for the returning students and staff at Grady, but for some, it marked their departure.
No teacher goes to school each morning expecting it to be their last. Many of them hope to teach into retirement, while others hope to last at least 20 years making an impact on children’s lives. However, the reality is that in this day in age very few teachers last in education until retirement. Some teachers leave for careers that earn them more money, while others give in to the stress that teachers experience on a daily basis. Whatever the reason for their departure, the same question pervades each of their minds when they decide not to sign their contract- What will I do next?
Susie Mercer
For Susie Mercer, working as the head coach of the ultimate Frisbee team, chair of the English department, yearbook advisor, coordinator of the gifted program and organizer of the master schedule was not enough. After eight years as a member of the Grady faculty, Mercer is now ready to move into administration and has found a position at Wesley International Academy as the IB coordinator for their middle school.
“I didn’t leave Grady because I wasn’t happy,” Mercer said. “I just needed to forward my career.”
And that is exactly what she is doing. Mercer plans to go back to school to get her Education Specialist degree in leadership and intends to enter the world of administration, with the hopes of eventually coming back to Grady in an administrative capacity.
“If you love teaching, but you want to continue up the financial ladder as you get older and more experienced, you have to leave the classroom,” Mercer said.
Immediately after arriving at Grady in 2006, Mercer became involved in several parts of Grady’s student life and culture, making an impact in any way that she could. How she managed to get it all done was a mystery to most. The secret may have lain in how much of her own time she spent at school, coaching the ultimate team, or helping with the yearbook.
“This transition would be easier if I had left because I was unhappy,” Mercer said. “You can’t heavily invest eight years of your life in a place and then not miss it when you leave.”
With an open mind and skills that allowed her to feel comfortable at Grady, Mercer always said, “If you are going to work in APS, Grady is the place to be.” Though she feels at times the school made her crazy or stressed, she wouldn’t change anything about her experience and has no regrets.
“I’m very proud of the work I did there, the programs I started or improved, the students whose lives I impacted,” Mercer said. “I’m glad for the mentors I had and the friends I made.”
George Volkert
Unlike Mercer, Latin teacher and former Grady parent George Volkert decided that “it’s time to move on.” After working at Grady for four years, his Latin classes were passed on to newly hired teacher, Ms. Richardson, and he was asked to float, with no classroom to call his own. Once he learned of this disappointing news, Volkert made the decision to retire from Grady and possibly from his teaching career as well.
“I don’t know what I’ll do in the future,” Volkert said. “I’ve taught 23 years, so I’m not sure what my long term plans are.”
Though Volkert is upset by the changes that have occurred over the past couple of months, he feels excited for the future that lies ahead of him. With a passion for teaching, Volkert feels he has options, and may take a page from his past. When he left Woodward Academy, where he taught Latin for several years, he pursued a career in real estate, which he may return to in the near future.
“I don’t regret [working at Grady], but it’s been a learning experience for me,” Volkert said. “And I do think that I made an impact.”
James Campbell
If you’ve studied English or social studies at Grady in the past, you probably crossed paths with James Campbell. When the stars aligned for the AP World History and AP Government teacher, he decided to take the opportunity he was given and depart from Grady after seven years of teaching.
At the end of the last school year, Dr. Murray, Grady’s principal of 23 years, was moved, and several students who Campbell had taught for many years graduated. Cambridge High School in Alpharetta, where his three-year-old children will eventually attend, offered Campbell a position to teach all sections of AP Government. All of these factors combined to create a uniquely auspicious opportunity for Campbell.
“Dr. Murray’s departure didn’t make me desperate to leave, but it made me open to leaving,” Campbell said. “I’d been considered for a few opportunities in previous years, but I wasn’t really open to leaving Grady while Dr. Murray was principal.”
Campbell was known to motivate his students by expecting their best and believing that they could achieve it. He also had high hopes of improving literacy among the student body, and though his plans of creating a peer mentoring program for reading never fully panned out, he was able to help several students and feels that he made a positive impact on the community if only by passing on his love for the subjects he taught.
“I have mixed feelings about leaving,” Campbell said. “…the Grady community is very much a family. I miss my colleagues and I miss my students.”
Campbell taught at Grady longer than he had been in any one position in his life. Though he believes his post Grady-prospects could be better, he has high hopes for his future and truly appreciates everything he gained from working at Grady.
Brian Leahy
“Life is too short to have regrets,” Brian Leahy said. “You do things for a reason. When said things are done, you own that reason and move on.”
For Leahy, it was the best decision he could have made in his situation. After working at Grady for five years, helping out with the special education program and the mock trial team, he felt he was being taken advantage of and his abilities were not being put to good use. And similar to Campbell, Dr. Murray’s removal was a large reason for his departure.
“If they could do that to him, I realized my own worth in the eyes of APS was next to nothing,” Leahy said. “Who wants to work for an employer who thinks you’re nothing?”
His involvement in the mock trial program at Grady gave Leahy a strong passion for the extracurricular activity, which involves a portrayal of a courtroom situation, and now he continues to be involved in mock trial, helping to run competitions rather than coach.
After spending his entire summer traveling and visiting family and friends, his future plans involve helping to run mock trial competitions around the U.S. and finding other opportunities that allow him to travel to places around the world.
Leahy feels he made a positive impact on the entire Grady community. And now, after 10 years of teaching in schools spanning all of Georgia, he feels ready to move and happy to have had every good and bad moment experienced.
“I don’t think I’ll ever teach again, but who knows,” Leahy said. “It’s always good to have options.”
Since getting over the initial anger of leaving the place he called home, he now feels it was the best choice he had. And though he is not currently working anywhere specific right now, Leahy is confident that he has some great opportunities ahead of him.
Cassandra Bolding
Though only at Grady for two years, guidance counselor Cassandra Bolding found a way to leave her mark. She found it a real pleasure to work in a school system that is so well supported by the community and felt privileged to be able to work with such a large amount of students each day of the school year. In her short time, she was able to get to know several hundred students and watch them evolve, even helping some graduate.
But when her husband took a new position that requires more travel, Bolding needed to be closer to home and more available to her two small children. A shorter commute to work was necessary, and Grady did not allow that.
“I am sad to leave behind my students and the faculty,” Bolding said. “But I had to make a decision that would be best for my family.”
With her future comes several options for Bolding. Grady is a school that she would consider returning to if home life changed, but with an expertise in school counseling, she hopes to continue to pursue this field, eventually wishing to look into private practice, as well.
Along with her departure this year, the absence of Communications and Journalism counselor Shaketha Blankenship has brought several gaps in the counseling department at Grady. Though Bolding is hopeful for her future, she will not forget the Grady community and all that she gained by working at the school, even if just for a short time.
“I think, well I know, that the counseling department will continue to do great things,” Bolding said.
