PALM HARBOR, Fla. — This week marks the end of an era for one particular teacher within Pinellas County Schools. After 46 years teaching in the district, the last 38 of them at Lake St. George Elementary School, Susan Adams is retiring. She’ll teach her final class this week.
“I love what I do, I look forward to my job each and every day, and I think that’s going to be a huge adjustment for me,” said Adams.
Pinellas County Schools is truly home for Mrs. Adams. She graduated from Gibbs High School before becoming a teacher. She also sent three children through the Pinellas County Schools system, one of them a fellow teacher in Pinellas County.
“It’s had a huge impact on who I am, being around the people I am, the camaraderie that we all have, the support that we give each other,” said Adams.
Mrs. Adams is the only remaining teacher at Lake St. George who can say they were there when the school opened back in 1988. Primarily a first-grade teacher, Mrs. Adams says the clothing and hairstyles may have changed, but her message always remained the same.
“My lasting impression would hopefully be, ‘believe in yourself, you can do far more that you think you can,’ and probably in addition to that, probably kindness right, spreading kindness, and I think we need that more than ever in our world,” said Adams. “There are children that we’ve had who have moved back into the area and had children of their own so that their children could come to the same school and have those great experiences.”
Mrs. Adams said despite all the appreciation she has received over the years from her students, the students have been just as impactful on her own life.
“They teach me something each and every day, I have to say, and in addition to that they put a smile on your face every day,” said Adams.
As she packs up her classroom for the final time, Mrs. Adams said just because she will no longer be teaching, she’ll always have a place at Pinellas County Schools.
“My daughter is also a volleyball coach at Carwise, so I’ll be doing scorekeeping for that, so we’ll see where it goes from there,” said Adams.
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