Mothers Retirement from Teaching

When my mom retired from teaching, my dad made up some story about how he had to take her to work (fixing the car or something) so that at the end of the day after all the kids had gone home he could pick her up...and what I mean by that was he rented a limo and had arranged ahead of time for the principal to announce over the PA "Mrs. MR, your final bus ride is here" and my dad was waiting for her with the limo and a dozen roses. She thought it was the coolest thing ever.

This depends on who you are planning on inviting. Most schools will do a "dinner" in her honor with current faculty and administration invited- usually a dinner for all of those retiring in the school or district. Check and see what is already planned.

If possible, I would suggest having something with your family and friends b/c they won't be included in the "school celebration". You could reach-out to former students and parents and either invite them to attend or invite them to send letters and pictures and do a scrapbook for her.

Think about the shear number of people she has worked with in her tenure and the things she has "seen and done" as well as the things she couldn't do b/c of her career. Teachers simply can't go on vacation in January... maybe have your family members contribute to a great vacation she always wanted to take but couldn't.

As an educator I can tell you that you won't know which children and memories are the most prominant- only she will. There are some kids that touch your heart and never leave- there are some parents who do the same. I would suggest focusing in on trends, decades and overall celebration of her commitment to a very challenging and (unfortunately) under-valued profession.

Congratulations to your mother!

you might also check to see if the school district has a facility that could host a party to recognize her retirement. Some districts do this for long term employees. You could get the principal or school board to issue a proclamation honoring her retirement. A scrapbook or a slide show of some of her classes over the years would be fun too!

I had a party for my mom in my home when she retired from teaching. I had asked her to invite about 10 people, but she couldn't get the guest list down under 25 and everyone came! It was still great. I had a nice luncheon of salads, muffins etc. My sister and a friend helped me serve. You may be thinking of a larger number of people and so cannot have it in your home, but I really enjoyed doing this for my mom. She was thrilled and still talks about how wonderful it was.

Many large restaurants have private rooms. There is a really nice tea room in downtown Plano, but I don't think they can handle a very large group. I think there are some tea rooms in Forney also. My mom was given a very nice quilt that someone had made from kids drawings. I like the idea of a scrap book or slide show also.

Can you have staff members write her a letter and scrapbook them along with photos of the school, copies of pics from the classroom.....
I am not from your area, but a nice restaurant with a private room would be fun to surprise her with a banquet dinner of apperciation with staff and friends and family there ???