Since 1985, special education teacher Alane Lovell has met students where they are. This fall, she’ll be “watching from the sidelines.”
Lovell has worked at Sprunica Elementary School for her entire career. She retired at the end of this school year and was awarded the district’s Teacher of the Year award after being named Teacher of the Year for Sprunica.
Developing relationships with students and their families is what kept her working in special education.
She also worked with the same students for several years, which allowed her to watch their progress over a longer period of time than other teachers. “More importantly, it allows me to build strong relationships, which is one of the critical components to being an effective teacher,” Lovell said.
She always enjoyed working in small groups or one-on-one. “For me, it’s easier to keep kids engaged when working with a small group or individually,” she said. Rules in her classroom could also be more relaxed. “If a student is having a bad day, I can stop the lesson and give them time to talk. It’s hard to do this in a large group or whole class setting,” she said.
Lovell came to Sprunica after earning her degree in special education from Indiana University. She student-taught at Brown County Junior High School before landing a job at Sprunica.
Lovell babysat children when she was in junior high and high school. In high school, she did exploratory teaching in a school designed for students with special needs. “I knew at that time that I wanted to be a special education teacher,” she said.
SES Principal Shane Killinger first met Lovell 19 years ago when he started working at Sprunica. “Ever since then, every special education teacher that I have worked with, I have compared them to Alane. Her work ethic is unbelievable. She still gets so excited about kids achievements and is so positive,” he said in a video tribute to Lovell and other retiring staff members.
“It has just been a pleasure working with you. … I want to thank you for setting that bar so high as an educator, and now I can say congratulations on not only Sprunica’s teacher of the year, but the corporation’s teacher of the year. You deserve that honor so much. Enjoy your retirement, my friend. I refuse to say goodbye.”
Sprunica teacher Erika East said in the tribute video that Lovell’s career left a legacy there. “You and the difference you have made will live on in the lives of each child that you have touched,” she said.
“It will also live on in the lives of each of us, your fellow colleagues. We know the difference you made, because we watched it every day. We watched as you met each student exactly where he or she was and how you helped them take steps so that they could learn the best that they could. You were always an amazing advocate for them.”
East said that Lovell taught all the Sprunica teachers to be better educators. “Without you, Sprunica would never be what it is,” she said.
Sprunica teacher Barbara Young retired in 2017. Young and Lovell started teaching together at Sprunica in 1985. “I remember when you had a teeny-tiny little resource room with a wooden table covered with floral contact paper where you met with parents so dutifully, and from the very beginning, you were one of the ones that raised the bar high for everyone else,” she said.
“I can’t say enough about your dedication, your love of children — seeing you in my mind, sitting millions of times, working with students all over the building, all ages, bending over them, making sure that they understand and are doing the things they need to do to learn.”
‘One of the hardest workers’
Superintendent Laura Hammack describes Lovell as “one of the most patient, kind and focused educators with whom I have ever had the opportunity to know.”
She said she cannot imagine Sprunica Elementary without Lovell.
“As a special educator, Mrs. Lovell mastered the craft of holding high expectations for her students while simultaneously providing them with the love and support that they needed to succeed,” she said.
“She is one of the hardest workers I have ever known and I love her very much.”
Brown County Schools lost a great teacher when Lovell retired, but Hammack said she has earned this next chapter and “can be proud of the lasting impact that she has made on generations of young learners.”
When Lovell thinks back over her time as a teacher in Brown County, many memories come to mind, including happy ones like when a struggling reader called himself a reader.
There were sad ones too, like when a student lost a parent or a student passed away.
Along with those memories come ones of feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. But overall, Lovell said her time with Brown County Schools could be described as “fulfilling.”
“I think what I will remember the most, however, is the atmosphere created by the staff, students and parents at Sprunica. It’s always been a warm, friendly, caring and supportive place. It’s been my ‘family’ for so many years.”
Al Kosinski retired as director of student services in 2018. He worked closely with Lovell developing individualized education plans for students and meeting with families. “You’re one of the best teachers I ever worked with,” Kosinski said.
“You’ve done so many good things for the boys and girls of Brown County Schools. It’s incalculable how much good you’ve done. You were top notch. Everyone knows it. No one is irreplaceable, but you’re pretty close to being irreplaceable.”
Kosinski also complimented Lovell’s IEPs for making sense and being “to the point specific in terms of how to actually help kids.”
“The one thing I’m proud of, and you should be, is the way we treated our clients and our fellow teachers and administrators with respect at all times,” Kosinski said.
“We did that for parents. We never disparaged or talked negatively about them. We looked at the realities of what was going on and worked to figure it out, but we always treated them with respect. That is a legacy that is better than any other.”
Brown County Educators Association President Brenda Ely said that Lovell was always one to be fighting for students who needed her. “You were always a champion in their corner and I just hope you know how much you’ve meant to many, many families in this community,” Ely said.
As her retirement begins, Lovell said she is looking forward to relaxing and visiting her new grandson in Washington state. “As soon as my son feels that it is safe for me to come visit, I will be on a plane,” she said.
Lovell and her husband recently bought a home in Brown County, so landscaping and other projects around their new home will also keep her busy.
Finding a balance between professional and personal life is something she wants new teachers to learn. Her youngest son recently told her that his prominent memories from his childhood involve her always doing school work.
“I find that to be sad and regretful. Teachers cannot get everything done that needs to be done during the course of the school day. There will always be work that has to be done at home, but if I could go back and do it all over, I would find a way to have a better balance between my school life and my home life,” she said.
From the administrators to fellow teachers, to bus drivers, to kitchen staff, to students and everyone in between, Lovell thanks them for helping her become the educator she is today.
“All of you have influenced me in some way,” she said.
“I’m so grateful to have been a part of this ‘family.’ I’ll miss being actively involved, but I think I’ll enjoy watching from the sidelines.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Retirees from Brown County Schools ” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The following teachers and staffers retired from Brown County Schools at the end of the 2019-2020 school year:
- Dana Figg, library assistant at Sprunica Elementary School
- Mary George, paraprofessional at Brown County Junior High School
- Vicki Heldman, paraprofessional at Helmsburg Elementary School
- Tammy Kesler, health assistant at Brown County High School
- Alane Lovell, special education teacher at SES
- Pam Lucas, elementary math teacher at Brown County Intermediate School
- Vince McCann, business teacher at BCHS
- Jim Nelson, corporation school psychologist
- Chris Stoll, guidance administrative assistant at BCHS
