The long education careers of Salem Community High School Principal John Boles and business teacher Stacey Beavin, and special education teacher Cris Rector have come to an end with the conclusion of the school year.
John Boles spent 32 years at SCHS, spending his first nine years as a social studies teacher, four as assistant principal, and the final 19 as principal. He was known for interacting with students before school and during passing periods.
“In all honesty, I never grew up. I’m just a kid. Being around kids, they’ve done more for me than I have done for them. They charge my batteries, just everything. People look at me like I have four heads. High School students haven’t changed; they haven’t. Adults have. That’s kind of the mindset that every kid could use a pat on the back, every kid could use an attaboy, no matter the situation. I’ve tried to live by that.”
Boles at one time was also Salem’s head boys basketball coach.
“A lot of coaching memories that I will never forget. Some of the team. The bond that you build with your teammates and coaches. Memories from coaching will last a lifetime.”
Boles was in charge of discipline when serving as assistant principal.
“When you hand out discipline, you need to be some mean, evil person. You don’t, you have to respect kids. When you give respect, you get respect from young people. You will.”
Boles says he was just a small part of the team and said he was blessed to be at SCHS. He thanked the parents and students for making his career.
Beavin spent a total of 31 years at SCHS, the first nine as an English teacher and the rest in the business department.
“Teaching those classes that I taught that were valuable skills that kids could learn, and go right out in the workplace and be able to use those skills. That was really important to me. To provide not necessarily textbook skills that maybe a textbook might teach, but what I would want to know how to do, what I would be expected to do as an employee. I really worked at trying to provide skills to students in that way.”
Beavin says the department long ago got rid of the textbooks. Among her favorite classes were WILD-TV, where students put together the daily announcements. Beavin says that because of the structure of the class, she got to know the students differently. Beavin has no plans in retirement except to relax a little.
The teaching career of Rector as a special education teacher has also come to an end. Rector says she has a handicapped child and because of a shortage of special education teachers she decided to pursue that field.
“We get very personal. Some of the kids I have anywhere from four to eight years in a row. We kind of become like a family. The kids tell me everything they are doing. I ask them questions about what they are going to be doing. They give me hugs and draw pictures for me. They are almost like my kids, we’re very close.”
Rector especially remembers the celebrations for holidays and special times. She hopes to do some traveling in retirement.
