Skyridge teacher retires after 36 years working in Auburn Union School District

By Sandy Firth, Journal Staff WriterIn 1966, Jeanette Teehee considered two options for a career ? nursing or teaching ? she chose the latter because she had just graduated college and had a small child at home.?I wanted to be able to spend summers at home with him and to have a set schedule,? she said. ?I grew to love teaching.?Friday, Teehee retired from teaching third-grade at Skyridge School and 36 years in Auburn Union School District. Teehee, 60, said she initially didn?t have intentions to stay in teaching.?I wanted to get married and be a housewife,? she said. ?I found I wasn?t meant to stay home.?Teehee began teaching at Rock Creek School. From there, she moved to Lincoln Way School then to Skyridge when it opened in 1990. She has spent the last 12 years teaching third grade at Skyridge.?I have taught kindergarten, first-grade, third-grade and fourth-grade,? she said. ?My favorite is third-grade because the children are still at an age where they are still young and you can still convince them they are having a good time.?Harriett Kroot, Skyridge principal, said Teehee is a teacher who is respected by everyone and will be sorely missed.?She is a delightful person to be with and get to know,? Kroot said. ?She has a great sense of humor and is an incredibly skilled and inspirational teacher.?Kroot, who has been Teehee?s boss since 1993 and was a mentor teacher with her in the 1980s, said Teehee has a good teaching ability.?It is a pleasure to watch her teach,? Kroot said.Dawn Hillstead, a parent of two of Teehee?s former students, said she asked that both of her daughters be in Teehee?s class.?I knew she had a lot of structure in her class and is willing to help children who want a little extra challenge,? Hillstead said. ?She doesn?t make a big deal out of it, the other students don?t even know.?One of Hillstead?s daughters is now a ninth-grade at Placer High School.?She is a straight A student in mostly advanced placement classes,? she said. ?I think her being in Jeanette?s class helped push her in that direction.?Teehee said Friday she plans to go back to Oklahoma where she grew up. Teehee said her husband, John, is completing a job in Auburn and then moving to Oklahoma. ?I have family back there and my husband and I bought a really nice retirement home,? she said.During her retirement, Teehee said she plans to relearn her native language, Cherokee, and to play the piano.?I love music and I want to learn the piano,? she said. ?I never had the time to learn it the way I wanted to, now I will.? The Journal?s Sandy Firth can be reached at sandyf@goldcountrymedia.com.