Anita Campbell
County Reporter
After 29 years with the Warsaw R-9 School District, elementary instructor Melinda Huffman has retired.
Huffman began her career as a kindergarten teacher at Ruth Mercer Elementary. She worked for 18 years as a kindergarten teacher then spent three years as a second-grade teacher, seven years as a first-grade teacher and then one year as a kindergarten teacher at Warsaw South Elementary.
“I will definitely miss the kids the most,” said Huffman. “The first day of school was always the hardest and the most exciting. Meeting my new little family for the year was fun. When teaching the younger students, they are usually so excited about coming to school and want to be there. I felt it was not only my job to teach them, but to keep that excitement going. If they weren’t excited about coming to school, then it was my job to get them excited. It is easier to learn new things if you want to be there! My favorite words to hear were always ‘This is the best day ever, Mrs. Huffman!’”
Huffman and her husband Jason are parents of two daughters and sons-in-law, Halleigh and Michael Spry and Erika and Blaine Fleury. They also are grandparents to Brady (6) and Molly (3) Spry and Abram (2) Fleury.
Huffman grew up in Gallatin, Missouri, and graduated from Gallatin R-9 School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood PreK-3 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education 1-8 from CMSU in Warrensburg.
Huffman gave credit to her mentor teachers for her success as an educator.
“I had the best mentor teachers, Ruth Mercer and Micki Lane, when I stared my teaching career,” said Huffman. “I will forever be grateful for their guidance. They took me in as a first-year teacher and taught me how to teach, how to find my ‘teacher voice’ and how to put the ‘fun’ into learning.”
Reading was one of Huffman’s favorite subjects while teaching.
“We always started the day with my ‘favorite book’ and by the end of the year the students would be saying, ‘Mrs. Huffman every book is your favorite book’ and they were right! I hope I instilled the love of reading in all my students,” said Huffman.
Huffman plans to enjoy her grandkids and be a full time Nana now that she has retired. She also wants to travel with her husband, garden and visit friends and family more.
“I have taught so many wonderful students during my years of teaching,” said Huffman. “I loved showing them the joy of reading, laughing, being silly and still learning. I hope I showed each student that he or she was loved and was worth every ounce of hard work put into learning. I loved seeing them grow in all areas of life. It has also been exciting to watch former students graduate from high school and even more so to have taught some of their children in my classroom! Thank you, parents for sharing your children with me over the last 29 years!”
