By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Vicki Gile is closing her time as an educator this summer with a career that has gone full circle.
She started her career as a student teacher at O'Loughlin Elementary School, and she is ending her career as the principal at the same school.
Gile, 64, a native of Plainville, didn't go the traditional route to become a teacher. She said she didn't know in what direction she wanted to take her life when started college, so she dropped out after her first semester.
She worked in the ad department for a newspaper, as a paraeducator for a preschool program and finally a school secretary.
"It was through that combination of things that I realized kids really seemed to be drawn to me," she said. "It was an eye-opening experience."
At 29 Gile went back to school and earned her teaching degree from Fort Hays State University, and has been a certified educator for 29 years. She served as the O'Loughlin principal for five years.
Gile taught in Plainville for seven years and Garden City for 17 years. While at Garden City she earned an English as a second language endorsement, reading specialist endorsement and completed an education leadership program.
She was an associate principal for a fifth/sixth-grade center in Garden City and served as a part-time principal for a small country school in the district her last year there.
Best of both worlds
Of her many roles in education, she said being an elementary school principal has been her favorite because she gets the best of both worlds.
"You get to really interact with kids as a principal and have the fun side of seeing them in all kinds of settings, whether that is academic setting or the discipline setting or whether it is the fun activities we do at school," she said.
However, she said she still has the opportunity to work with adults and make an impact with teachers.
"You get the adult interaction, and to be the professional that tries to set a vision for a building and tries to lead the teachers toward that vision," she said.
When she took on the role of leading O'Loughlin, she said she already had the idea that O'Loughlin was a great school.
"I knew the history of O'Loughlin and that the teachers who were here were so passionate and willing to give their time and every ounce of passion that they had to making this school great. I knew my job at this point would be able to maintain that."
Meeting all needs of kids
Yet in her almost 30 years as an educator, Gile said the characteristics of society have changed and so have the children's experiences outside of school.
More children are coming from homes that don't have a mother and father living together, which is a challenge for kids and teachers.
She said teachers have to be all encompassing with academics, but also it means being a mentor, a role model, a support and a compassionate, caring person who lifts kids up whenever they can.
She said the pandemic has made this her toughest year as an educator.
"I guess in my mind I felt as if I was responsible for the health of every single student in the building, every single adult in the building," she said. "There was a weight constantly in my mind."
"That first semester especially, it was just difficult. Teachers were stressed. Parents were stressed, and I was stressed. It was difficult to keep on an even keel and ensure the kids thought everything was OK and everything was normal and everything was going to be fine."
Doing something worthwhile
Gile said she has received the most joy in her work from interacting with kids.
"Seeing kids, the kids relate to you or interact with you in a positive way," she said. "I think that is the thing that gives every principal that ah-ha moment or that moment when you feel like you are making an impact.
"The kids come running and they want a smile or hug you," she said. "Even the kids that are having a difficulty during the day and you can sit down with them and talk to them in a way that they can be calm and relax and feel that someone understands or gets them."
In an non-COVID year, Gile would smile and greet her students as they enter the school.
"For some kids that's the first interaction they have during the day. It does make some kids feel welcome and they are where they belong," she said.
She said she enjoys seeing the kids light up during assemblies.
"Just watching the kids' faces as a collective whole is one of the greatest things you can experience," Gile said. "They hold nothing back. If they are delighted, you see it written all over their bodies."
That feeling she gets when she interacts with kids is really the reason she said she went into educaiton.
"For me, I was getting a lot from the kids and a lot out of it," she said. "I think when it gets down to it, that is why we all go into education because it does something for us too. It's not just us giving to the kids, it's the kids giving back to us.
"You feel as if you've done something worthwhile."
It takes a team
Gile said creating a positive atmosphere in a school is dependent upon everyone associated with the school, including teachers, parents and staff.
"I'm not just building a culture or climate by myself. It's kind of a team approach that everyone is on that same page," she said.
She said she feels the same way about the awards the school has won, including being named a Distinguished School and being a Blue Ribbon Award winner.
"People congratulate me on O'Loughlin being a Blue Ribbon school or a congratulate be for O'Loughlin being a Distinguished School," she said. "I have always told them that it was really the teachers and the families who accomplished those things.
"I must admit they were proud moments, and I was very proud of this school and being a part of this school family."
Gile said she has a bucket list of adventures she wants to go on during her retirement. She said she wants to take a woodworking class in the steps of her brother, father and grandfather.
She hopes to sit down with some books, travel and spend more time with her children and grandchildren.
"I learned a lot from being here," she said of O'Loughlin. "I guess the learning never stops when you're in education."
Teacher Rene Burns has been hired as the new O'Loughlin Elementary School principal.