Kathy Stewart, English teacher and department head, stands at the front of her class, leading her students deeper into a discussion about Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” For 37 years, Stewart has been doing this exact same thing day after day with different students, different authors and different schools. But at the end of this year, she’s retiring.
“I want to see what else I can do in life,” Stewart said. “I want to know who else I am besides coming to school every day, which I’ve been doing since I was six.”
Back in 1987 Stewart began her career, jumping between jobs all around South Dakota. In 2006, she moved to Kansas to restart her teaching career after a short break where she decided to stay with her kids. From then on, Stewart has been teaching English in the Shawnee Mission district.
Until next year.
“This is the best job ever,” Stewart said. “I get to go to work every day. Whether it’s a good day or bad day, I know what I did at the end of the day, and I get to do something that hopefully moves society forward in a positive way.”
Stewart is ready for what she calls the “next chapter in life.” This time it won’t include Shakespeare, William Golding or Anthony Doerr.
“I’m retiring. I’m not going away. I’m not tearing my sleeve,” Stewart said. “You know, it’s just a new path on the journey of life. It’s as unknown to me as a senior leaving high school in many ways. We’ll see what’s next.”
