NAME:
Mrs. Mary Herl
SCHOOL:
Northwestern Elementary School
CLASS:
Kindergarten
SCHOOL PHONE:
814-756-9400; e-mail: mherl@nwsd.org
I always wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was a little girl! I went to Edinboro State College (now
it's called Edinboro University of Pennsylvania) to make that dream come true. I graduated with a
degree in elementary education and special education in 19something (a long time ago, anyway) and
got my first teaching job in Ohio, instructing 8th grade home economics!
It was sort of a family joke because I was never the best cook and only learned to sew in college;
but we all learned together as I tackled the art of homemaking! I still believe a teacher must learn
right along with the students no matter what a class is doing. It was a successful couple years and
then I resigned to start my family.
My husband, Larry, and I have four children, two boys and two girls, of whom we are very proud.
One of the girls is teaching English at Tri-State Business Institute and the other daughter, also a
certified elementary teacher, is presently a stay-at-home mom; our oldest son is a chef and the
other boy is an engineer (doing many things I don't even pretend to understand).
We also have five adorable grandsons and, finally! . . . a grandaughter! (I can't believe she is three-
years old already.) They all know how to "make my day" with their giggles and smiles. I do love being
a grandma!
I went back to teaching in Ohio in 1987 at a facility for multi-handicapped youngsters. In 1995 I
took a break from the classroom and worked as a reporter for "The Albion News." I loved my work
and met many interesting people in the local community.
When a part-time teaching position opened up at the elementary school, I applied for it and the
rest is my most recent history. I worked at Northwestern Elementary in learning support for two
years and now am teaching kindergarten and loving every minute of it. (Well. . . almost every
minute.) I consider it a privilege to work with children and share some of my life and love with them
in these busy times in our society.
We are committed to learning through lots of work and play together. At this age especially, learning
is busy and it is also messy! We believe it is okay to make mistakes in kindergarten; that's how we
learn! If we knew everything already and never made mistakes, we wouldn't even have to come to
school.
We treat each other with respect and do our best at all times. Love and care make all the difference
in our lives, so those are among the things we learn to share. We work as a team, helping each other.
Our motto is: Learn a Little Everyday!
