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Two long-serving TBE teachers to depart after non-renewal of “drop” program contracts
QUENTIN ROUX / Staff
Teachers Debbie Schlinder, rear, and Esther Scuderi stand outside the school they served for a combined total of 69 years. The two women leave prematurely at the end of the school year.
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They’re throwing a farewell party for teachers Esther Scuderi and Debbie Schlinder May 28 at Tommie Barfield Elementary School, but neither really wants to be there.
They will attend, though, no question about that.
“We owe it to the community to attend ... to let them say what they want to say to us,” said a tearful Schlinder during an emotional interview with the two departing teachers on Thursday morning.
The two women, who have a combined 69 years’ service at the school, are among 11 others in the Collier County School District whose DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) program contracts have not been renewed.
Essentially, the program enables teachers reaching retirement age or 30 years of service, to continue teaching for five more years, with a three-year extension a year at a time.
“The new administration is the first to deny anyone another contract,” Schlinder said. “We’re the first people to go.”
For the two teachers, it’s a bittersweet time of reflection and deciding what to do in the future.
Scuderi, who spent 10 years teaching in Massachusetts before joining TBE in 1974 as a kindergarten teacher, said it’s going to be tough changing hats.
“When I have to hand in the keys and close the door, it’s going to be a very sad day for me,” she said. “I’ll probably do a lot of volunteering, whether working here or walking dogs. I’m not giving up, and I’m not going to disappear.”
Florida native and physical education teacher Schlinder, now 58, said her job at TBE is the only one she’s ever known.
“I started when I was 23,” she said. “It’s been a privilege and honor all these years, working with children from kindergarten through fifth grade and getting to see the ranges of development.
“Just yesterday,” Schlinder said, “I went to an outlet store and met one of my ex-students who works there. She said her daughter was coming to the school next year, and would I be there? I told her no, and that Mrs. Scuderi wouldn’t be there either. She was very upset.”
The financial implications are a little more daunting for Schlinder, who said if she’d been able to stay for the next three years, she’d have been eligible for Medicare around the same time her school insurance ran out.
Instead, she will now have to buy insurance, something she’s never had to do.
For her part, 73-year-old Scuderi said she’d be “OK” financially.
“You know,” Schlinder said, “We’ve been lucky to be in a community where children are allowed to show us affection. They’re allowed to be little kids, and little kids want to hug.”
Scuderi nodded in agreement.
“I won’t be getting all those hugs any more,” she said. “I’ll be getting licks from my dog.”
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I was so saddened to hear that Ms. Schlinder and Ms. Scuderi are being forced to resign from their teaching positions. I grew up on Marco and attended Tommie Barfield in the 1970's and I still remember both of these teachers well. Ms. Scuderi was my younger brother John's Kindergarten teacher and I remember picking him up from her classroom daily. She always took the time to show me which little book I needed to help him read each night. Ms. Schlinder was our P.E. teacher and she christened my best friend (Heather Ward) with the nickname "Gigglebox", which we continue to use to this day. Both Heather and I have grown up to be teachers ourselves and know what a tremendously demanding career choice it can be. The fact that these two ladies are still willing to teach and still obviously have a love for the job should be valued and honored. I hope that they realize that they have made an impact on thousands of kids over the years. I think that to not allow them to end their careers on their own terms is disrepectful and shameful. This is just another unfortunate example of how little teachers are valued in our society. I wish them both the very best during their well-deserved (although premature) retirement.
#1 Posted by JessLembach on May 19, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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