Mrs. Ruth Ann Gieser, and esol teacher
at Blair, will be retiring after 36 years as a teacher.
Lourdes Ceidi, the counselor for ESOL students
will be retiring after 30 years at Blair.
By Yudi Rodriguez
Three staff members who have been working in education
for more than 30 years are retiring this year.
Ms. Lourdes Ceide is a counselor for ESOL students
who has been working in education for 34 years and has been at Blair for 30 years.
Before she came to Blair she worked for four years at a Catholic high school in
Suitland, Maryland. She came to the mainland U.S. from Puerto Rico in 1951 with
her mother.
Ms. Ceide has mixed feelings about leaving Blair.
“I have sadness because I’m leaving something that I have built for
so many years,” Ms. Ceide said,“the work with the students, friends,
and staff. But what I will miss the most is the work with the students, helping
them and hearing about their dreams.”
Because she has been at Blair for a long time,
students often come back to visit and tell her about their lives. She feels very
happy when that happens and she sees that one of her students is a successful
person. “That makes me feel very satisfied,” she said.
“I don’t have any specific plans for
next year,” Ms. Ceide said, “but I’m exited about the things
that I can do now that I’m retiring. Now I can travel, spend more time with
my family, friends, and learn new things like how to play golf.”
Ms. Ceide feels that this is a new beginning, “When
you finish a project in your life, then you have to start a new beginning somewhere
else,” she said.
Another person who is retiring is Mrs. Caridad Montero
who has been an ESOL teacher’s assistant at Blair for 25 years.
Mrs. Montero came from Cuba in 1958 because her
mother was here and her mother sent for her to come. She was working in a beauty
shop before she started working in education.
In 1972 she started working for the Head Start Program
at Takoma Park Elementary School, “I stayed working there for 7 years,”
Ms. Montero said, “then I moved to Montgomery Blair in 1978.”
Here at Blair Mrs. Montero does a little bit of
everything but especially helps teachers who have ESOL classes.
“I have been working in math class for the
last three years helping the students. In technology class I been working for
the last seven years because most of the students are in ESOL level 2,”
she said. In the technology classroom there are some machines that are dangerous
and the students have to learn how to use them. “So when they are in ESOL
level 2 sometimes it is difficult for them to understand,” she added.
Mrs. Ruth Ann Gieser, an ESOL teacher, is also retiring
this year after 16 years at Blair and 36 years in education.
“Before I started working at Blair, I was
working at Montgomery College in a part-time job,” Mrs. Gieser said. “I
spent a wonderfult time at Blair,” she added. “I won’t forget
the staff and the kids. But what I will miss the most is to see the kids, to hear
their ideas and spend every day with them.”
Next year Mrs. Gieser said that she and her husband
want to travel.
