Hutchinson set to retire from teaching after 32 years

By Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
 
“I can proudly say I have always been a lifelong learner; I love to learn and am always eager to accept the challenge of learning new things,” said Janet Hutchinson. The Newcastle Elementary School kindergarten teacher is retiring on June 4, after teaching for 32 years. 
Hutchinson grew up on a ranch near the Black Hills with her parents and four other siblings. She credits her parents for establishing a good work ethic in her and said that they taught her the importance of education. 
“The words of my father are deeply embedded in my heart and mind, ‘Get your education, kid. Nobody can ever take that away from you,’” Hutchinson said.
The thought of teaching didn’t occur to her until her college years, Hutchinson said, but there were events in her childhood that led to that decision. 
As a first-grade student, she was terrified of going to school because her teacher was “loud and aggressive,” often using physical punishment, Hutchinson said. School was a place of “dread” to Hutchinson, not a place of learning. 
She had similar experiences throughout her school years, but Hutchinson said she also had caring teachers who helped her to understand the “joy of learning.” 
After experiencing another harsh teacher in college, Hutchinson decided she wanted to be a teacher so that she could provide a safe environment for the kids where they could learn to love school without experiencing the fear that she felt. 
“Anytime I was feeling threatened or afraid, I did poorly in school. When I was free of negative influences, I excelled. It was then and there I knew I was destined to be a teacher,” Hutchinson said. “My mission in life was set; I would do everything within my power to get children off to a great start, to help them love school, to want to be there, and to love learning.”
In 1975, Hutchinson received her Associate of Arts from Sheridan College, and she earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Black Hills State University two years later. She went on to receive her Master of Arts in Education from the University of Wyoming in 2001. 
Although she has been a certified teacher for 32 years, Hutchinson said she has been involved in education for 42 years. She served as a substitute teacher, homebound tutor, private tutor, preschool teacher, playgroup leader, and many other roles at Crook County School District No. 1, Inyan Kara Group Home Association and Weston County School District No. 1 from 1979 to 1989. She also served as an adjunct faculty with Eastern Wyoming College. 
“Education is just important, and I’ve been involved in it for 42 years, just not as a teacher,” Hutchinson said.
Before her years of substituting and tutoring, Hutchinson first taught at Moorcroft Elementary School as a kindergarten teacher from 1977 to 1979. Later in 1989, she taught various grade levels at Kitty Moats Elementary School in Osage, teaching every subject except music, she said. In 2002, she became a K-5 teacher at Kitty Moats. 
Hutchinson’s teaching career in Newcastle began in 2006, and she has been a kindergarten teacher at
the elementary school ever since then. 
Her best moments of teaching include watching students’ eyes “light up with excitement” when something clicks and they understand what they’re learning. Hutchinson said she also loves seeing former students who drop by to give a “hi” or a hug. She also appreciates receiving graduation announcements. 
“It is touching to know they thought of me as a special person to include,” she said. 
Hutchinson said she wants each student she’s ever taught to know that they are loved and cared for and that they’ll always be “one of my kids,” having a “special place in my heart.” She said the hardest part about being a teacher is the sad reality of students dealing with “trauma” in their home lives, a reality that sometimes causes teachers to lose sleep over thinking about how they can help. 
Hutchinson realized that not only was a fun and safe environment necessary for her students, she said, but that it should be a place for kids to become so absorbed in learning that they forget about their problems at home was equally important. 
In college, Hutchinson made it her goal to be the “best teacher ever,” and in 2006, she was nominated for the Weston County Teacher of the Year. She then moved on to the state level, making it into the finals. 
Students have seen the love and compassion that Hutchinson wanted to instill in them. Former student Shelby Wilt said that Hutchinson was “always a positive figure,” teaching her to work hard. 
“She taught me to be a kind soul to everyone and to be forgiving. She really was the best teacher I could ever ask for,” Wilt said. 
Wilt’s favorite memory with Hutchinson was when the teacher read “The Polar Express” to the class during the holidays over “hot chocolate and fresh cookies.” 
“We watched the movie, but it was never as good as her reading it out loud to us,” Wilt said. 
In her retirement years, Hutchinson plans to remain involved with the school by filling in as a substitute, when needed. She also wants to use her free time to visit her son Cody and his family in Missoula, Mont., more often. 
“I’m looking forward to spending more time with her (granddaughter), rather than just a weekend,” she said.
Hutchinson wants to visit her daughter Josie Ahlquist and her husband more often as well. They live in Los Angeles, but Ahlquist is a professional speaker so she travels a lot. Hutchinson wants to be able to travel with her more often and joked that going to Florida in January was a pleasant thought. 
Hutchinson is also looking forward to spending more time with her husband, Mike, who is continuing to work so that she could retire early, and with her 96-year-old mother in Sundance. Her decision to retire early stemmed largely from the death of her sister due to breast cancer. Hutchinson said she needed a change after that. 
Her advice for the next generation is to “try more to enjoy the moment and hold tight to your memories.”
Hutchinson’s retirement party is on June 9, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Masonic Hall, and she said she would love seeing her former students.
“Teachers care deeply for their students and their welfare. We want the best for them, always,” Hutchinson said.