Susan Yenco Gerlek, 73, has worked at Lisbon’s Philip W. Sugg Middle School for most of the 50 years that the school has existed. The retired school-teacher-turned-substitute-teacher talks about her long career in education, admitting that she has no plans to stop subbing at the school any time soon.

What got you interested in teaching? From a very early age, I knew that I would be a teacher. I enjoyed school. I enjoy learning and sharing ideas with others. I don’t remember any ed techs or educational support system when I was in elementary and high school, but I enjoyed tutoring other students.

What brought you to Sugg Middle School? While attending graduate school in Virginia, I seriously considered staying in Virginia. However, a death in the family altered those plans and I returned to Lisbon, my hometown, in 1973. While looking for a teaching position, I worked as an ed tech at Lisbon Elementary School for a few months. I was hired to teach language arts in the eighth grade when the new Philip W. Sugg Middle School opened in September 1973. I was both thrilled and nervous to be teaching under John Weldon, who had been my principal and teacher. In the early years, I taught siblings of some of my classmates; now I’m teaching grandchildren of former students. For 26 years I taught eighth-grade language arts and social studies. In 1999, I had the opportunity to create a French exploratory program in grades six through eight. Teaching the same students for three years and watching them develop academically and socially was incredible.

What has kept you there? The people. It takes a village to raise a child and I want to be part of this village. There are not enough superlatives to describe their (the staff’s) dedication. The principal, Ryan McKenney, and assistant principal, Mike Toomey, are a great team who communicate clear expectations and are very visible in their support. The list of the incredible people with whom I work with is very long and it does not come close to doing them justice.

Of course, the four classroom teachers in each of the school’s grade-level wings top the list. The four special ed teachers and six educators techs who support students in the classrooms. The technology, gifted and talented, Jobs for Maine Graduates, and STEM programs expand students’ horizons. Health and physical education build strong bodies. Art and music feed their souls.

The three “lunch ladies” fuel their active bodies. The nurse fixes their boo-boos. The day and evening custodians maintain our environment. The librarian does so much more than catalog books and run a book fair. She is always looking for ways to enrich students’ lives or support teachers. The guidance counselor, attuned to the pulse of the school, is such a valuable resource. We have a social worker and specialists in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech.

Our School Resource Officer knows the students. While the administrators may be at the helm, it is the two secretaries who keep this ship afloat and on course. I have the great honor to work with several former students, from librarian to guidance counselor to ed techs and teachers.

But the icing on the cake? The students. I want to spend time with these amazing young people. They forgive me when I goof and call them by the wrong name. They know I love Cheez-Its. They give me hugs and high fives and fist bumps. They beat me at Uno and Trash. They let me accompany the Sugg team to Special Olympics bocce training at Leavitt Area High School. They don’t laugh at me when I close my eyes or cry while watching the “War Horse.” They rock my world.

What was the most interesting/notable experience in your teaching career? I can choose only one? That would be the events surrounding Operation Desert Shield in 1990-91. As part of our writing unit in English, my students wrote letters to any serviceman. Sgt. Sean Bruce, an airmen from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, replied to every letter received. Many students continued the correspondence even after the servicemen returned home in March. That May, Sean and his wife visited for a week, staying at my house. Sean spent every day in class with us. It is unbelievable how that experience shaped my relationship with those students, the Lisbon High School Class of 1995.

I need to mention the class of 2027. That class deserves special mention for their resilience. The COVID pandemic can never be cast as beneficial, but . . . Those students entered (for them) a new school (the middle school) as schools reopened. They spent the day with their cohort in one room, wearing masks, staying in an area marked off in blue tape. They stayed six feet apart walking to the lunchroom, where they sat in designated spots. Halfway through seventh grade, masks could be removed and distancing decreased. School returned to “normal” (for them) in eighth grade. I have told them how much I admire them. They did what needed to be done. I believe the experience forged close bonds, taught them to watch out for each other, made them a much more cohesive unit.

What advice would you give others on their teaching journey? Teaching is more than a never-ending cycle of research, plan, prep, teach, evaluate and reteach. Networking is essential; don’t waste energy reinventing the wheel. Make use of all available resources. We tell our students that making a mistake can be a learning experience; model that behavior. Praise in public, chastise in private. Tell students what they are doing right. Look for something positive in every student, even if it’s good penmanship. When you’ve had a bad day, call a friend or participate in a fun activity. Make a list of things that went well. Rest assured that the sun will rise tomorrow. Be good to yourself. To put this in perspective, if I had the secret to teaching, I would have written a book, started a blog, or become a consultant.

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