Teacher who spent entire career in early education looks back on changes
Debbi Braden is moving out of her second home this summer after 30 years, which is longer than she has lived in her Butler Township house.
The kindergarten classroom Braden has taught in at Emily Brittain Elementary School all these years has become her second home not only because of the time she spent there, but also for the relationship she has developed with the school community.
It’s the aspect of her job she’ll miss most in her retirement.
“We work with families more than we ever had in the past,” Braden said. “I will definitely miss my Emily Brittain family. Not just my children and their families, but my colleagues, because at Emily Brittain we are truly a family.”
Braden taught first grade at Saint Marys Area School District before coming to Emily Brittain in the mid-1980s. One of her personal preferences was she never wanted to teach anyone taller than her.
While she was able to stick to this rule her whole career, Braden was not averse to learning from people shorter than her.
“When you deal with that many individuals over the course of your lifetime and you deal with that many families and see them come and go, there is so much to learn,” Braden said. “That I love about the kids, and as the school year progresses I see more of that.”
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