By Brianna Coy — There are many reasons why teachers decide to teach and many reasons for retiring. Three teachers that are retiring from the school this year are Julie Strancar, Laure Idoine and Linda Natale.
One reason for teachers retiring is after having put many years of teaching they want to take a break from it for different reasons. These are not the only reasons for teachers to retire.

Teachers retirement has increased because the benefits for teacher to retire have gone down. This situation has given teachers a choice when would be the best time to retire. The Teacher Retirement System is a plan for teachers to get the benefits for retirement, the disability benefit, and death and survivor benefits. These benefits have gone down each year and teachers are losing the benefits they had when they first started teaching. The change happens next year so many teachers have chosen to retire now.

“I will miss teaching. I love being with the young people,” Strancar said. “The skills they learn are so valuable it can affect their lives. It’s gratifying.”

Strancar has been teaching the business teaching career tech for 33 years at the school. The business career tech has changed its name many times. First she taught Executive Secretary, then Administration Office Assistant. After, the program was called Administration Office Tech and now it is called Business Support and Management.

“After retiring I’m not real sure what my plans are,” Natale said. “I still need to work with kids, and still work with my Pampered Chef business, my part job.”

“After retiring I will golf like crazy from April to November and I am a certified Pharmacy Technician part time,” Strancar said.

Natale has taught at GlenOak for 35 years and loves working with kids and her Pampered Chef business. Natale retired because she thinks it is just time after 35 years of teaching. She is an intervention specialist and has taught Algebra I, Geometry, English IV, Reading, Inclusion Science and History.

Strancar and Natale both wish to work with kids with kids when they are done. Mrs. Strancar is retiring because of the changes in the Teaching Retirement System and the new changes for teachers. Both teachers said they will miss the kids.

Many teachers are choosing to retire for financial and moral reasons. Both Strancar and Natale have plans after teaching at the school and have favorite memories of their time teaching.

[Updated Aug. 7, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]