Sommers hanging up lab coat

By Mary Grothause, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Friday, June 1, 2007 (1 year, 1 month ago)
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Retiring fifth-grade teacher Elaine Sommers, left, presented her three highest scoring science students Brooke Teman, second from left, Kenidi Ulm and Jordan Wiseman with certificates and prizes for their hard work during the last school term at Franklin Elementary. She said she will miss all the children and the teachers she worked with over the last 35 years.DELPHOS — While retiring school teacher Elaine Sommers is looking forward to having the time to travel and spend with her grandchildren, she knows how much she will miss her students and co-workers, who she describes as an extended family.
“This is such a wonderful community and none of us would want to work anywhere else,” she commented.
But Sommers, who has taught for 35 years, along with her husband, Bruce, who is also retiring, is looking forward to spoiling her twin grandsons who were born last September.
“We will probably do some traveling but I will miss the children,” she lamented, already missing the group of next year’s fifth-grade students at Franklin School.
Sommers and her husband, who are both from the Bluffton area, met in college. They had been married about six months when Bruce was called into the Army.
“Although he remained in the United States, I went ahead and finished obtaining my teaching degree and my first position was at Elida School, where I taught for two years. Then I taught third grade here for 16 years before teaching fifth grade and science class, which I just love,” she said.
And not surprising is both of their sons, who were reared in a home of education, chose to enter the same type of profession. Shawn is a school psychologist with Lima City Schools and he and his wife, Natalie, are the parents of the cherished twin boys.
Chris, who was newly married in December to wife, Sara Suever, has been a fifth-grade math teacher at Franklin School for the last two years.
“Shawn also has his own tutoring practice, which Chris helps with. I am considering helping with that, too, so I can still feel I’m helping teach children,” she added.
Sommers has high praise for the Delphos school system, relating there are more and more students from other area schools every year wanting to transfer to Delphos.
“We have a great guidance system and intervention program. We see every child as they are, even their weakness, and work to improve that. That’s why we have such high test scores,” she said.
When asked if any of her former students have contacted her over the years, Sommers nodded.
“Word must be out about my retirement. I received approximately 15 to 20 letters from students and in my mind, I can see their adult face over that child’s face. One little girl who had to move last year and go to Shawnee School wrote that she may be coming back next year and she wants to be a Wildcat again,” she said smiling.
While Sommers says she can’t always remember all her students names, she remembers their little faces. And that is what she is dreading, seeing those faces Friday when she tells her fifth-grade students goodbye for the last time.

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