Hedrick
Submitted photo
Twenty six years of Karen Hedrick’s teaching career has been spent in Brown County at Helmsburg Elementary School.
The second-grade teacher will soon embark on new frontiers of teaching, after retiring from Brown County Schools.
Hedrick has always taught second grade because she enjoys the age, she said.
Teaching runs in her blood, encouraged by her mother — also a teacher — to pursue the profession.
What will Hedrick remember most about teaching? The relationships.
“Those relationships were so important and made me want to come to work every day,” she said.
Q: Where did you all teach in Brown County Schools? What did you teach? Have you always taught in Brown County? If not, where else and what brought you to Brown County?
A: I have taught second grade at Helmsburg Elementary School for 26 years. This is the only school I have taught at in Brown County.
Q: What made you decide to be a teacher?
A: I decided to become a teacher because my mom was a teacher and she always encouraged me to become a teacher.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about retirement? Do you have any big plans?
A: Starting in the fall I will continue teaching at a school in Bloomington. I live in Bloomington and want to be closer to home because I will have a senior and freshman in high school.
Q: How would you describe your time at Brown County Schools?
A: I would describe my time teaching in Brown County as very rewarding. Helmsburg is such a caring place for students and teachers. Everyone works so hard for the good of all students.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a new teacher?
A: I would tell a new teacher to not be afraid to ask lots of questions. Reach out to colleagues and learn from them.
