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Schools

Loeffler Honored After 36 Years as Moraine Kindergarten Teacher

There will be a special send-off Monday for Loeffler, who has taught more than 1,200 Northville students.

Parents say what has made Jan Loeffler special in her 36 years of teaching young children, most of that as ’s sole Kindergarten teacher, is her attention to every student’s learning experience.

Loeffler, who is retiring this year, is being honored by former students and parents at the school with a special open house ceremony from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Organizers expect a large turnout, as just about every student that has attended the school in the past 21 years has had Loeffler – their first face of the district.

“It was just a wonderful experience to have her there,” said parent Wende Boerema, who has three boys in the district. “Even though she only has a student for half a day, within weeks of the start of school she’s working with parents on what their child needs to work on and is able to zero in what student needs to progress. She really cares enough to provide every parent with something every day that will make a difference.”

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Boerma, the coordinator of the open house, said Loeffler will be presented with a few special gifts at the event.

“The students she has now will be singing a special song written just for her. Also we’ll be accepting donations for a special fund to buy a piece of equipment for the Kindergarten playground in her honor,” Boerma said.

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After a total of 36 years of teaching young children, Loeffler said she sees both improvements and setbacks in early childhood education, but said she’s enjoyed working with every child along the way.

It was a job that Loeffler did with energy and kindness, said Mary Kay Gallagher, assistant superintendent for the Northville district, who also was Moraine's principal before moving into district administration.

“Mrs. Loeffler impacted the lives of more than 1,200 Kindergartners,” Gallagher said. “She was always the first teacher to jump into school improvement efforts, and she tried her best to unlock every child’s talents.”

Loeffler herself said she’s worried about the future of early childhood education, as youngsters are having to struggle through increased curriculum requirements while class sizes also increase.

“I had nine more students in each of my two classes than last year, and next year is going to have even more,” Loeffler said. “It’s going to be a challenge for Michigan students as districts struggle with funding.”

Gallagher, who was selected for promotion to Northville’s superintendent on July 1, agrees.

“We’re grappling with some difficult budget issues. As it stands right now, we’re not able to hire anyone new,” she said. The district will move another teacher into Loeffler’s place, Gallagher said.

Loeffler, 61, grew up in Okemos, the oldest of seven children. This responsibility convinced her at an early age that she should be a teacher, she said. “I love watching little kids. I never thought of anything else to do.”

After getting a child development degree, she taught first grade in the Webberville Community Schools district for 13 years. She moved with her husband to California for two years, where she began her Kindergarten work at Almaden Elementary School in San Jose. The job her husband had there was short-lived, and the couple moved back with their two young daughters to Novi, and Loeffler began work in the neighborhood district of Northville.

Moraine was closed due to low enrollment at the time, so she first taught at . A year later, Moraine opened up, and she’s been there ever since.

There a number of differences in teaching young children today than back in the 1970s, Loeffler said. The main change has been the increased curriculum for young children. “We’re teaching our Kindergarten classes today about half of what we taught the first graders when I first started,” she said.

Also, technology has come a long way, though Loeffler says the impact on young minds from cable TV, video games and other electronic distraction has been both harmful and beneficial.

“Children today are exposed to a lot more than what they used to be, getting on the Internet and surfing around by age 5. They even travel and go on planes a lot more, they’re more worldly,” she said. “However, they are more difficult to teach, they need more stimulation. They seemed to be more creative, more able to do things on their own years ago.”

However, Loeffler doesn’t think that all-day Kindergarten classes are the way to attract a child’s attention and make up for increased requirements. She said she’s been on many study committees about the topic, and disagrees with the state's Republican legislators who want to cut district funding if a school only offers half-day instruction to 5-year-olds.

“We did the research, and all-day doesn’t really show any benefit past third grade. It benefited students through first and second grade, but by third grade it really made no difference if they had attended half-day Kindergarten or full-day,” Loeffler said.

“They’ll be okay, especially with the help of an administration that is always looking at innovation and new ways of doing things. We always seem to be on the cutting edge,” she said.

Though she’s likely to volunteer at Moraine, she said she’s ready to retire and spend more time with her family, including her two daughters (27 and 31 years old) and a granddaughter.

“I don’t want to miss out on that part of my life. I’m ready, I really think I lived through the golden years of education,” Loeffler said. “It’s just amazing what I’ve seen children be able to do. It’s been a great time, and I wouldn’t change a bit.”

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