A Shared Beginning And End: Two Shipley’s Teachers Retire Together

Jill Derlink and Pamela Karr-Dawson began their Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) careers in 1992 — Derlink at Crofton Woods Elementary School and Karr-Dawson at Tracey’s Elementary School. In the early 2000s, they started at Shipley’s Choice Elementary School and became best friends. They shared a wall between their classrooms, often completed each other’s sentences, raised their children at the same time through Shipley’s, and have even been known to dress alike.

So, it’s not surprising that when they walked out of their classrooms through the front door on June 16 after 21 years together, they would share the “last, last day of school,” and are now officially retired together after 34 years in education, all within AACPS.

Derlink and her husband moved from Pittsburgh to Maryland right out of college in search of teaching positions. She was hired at Crofton Woods just one week before the start of school. She also spent time at Eastport and Crofton Meadows elementary schools, teaching kindergarten through second grade, before settling in at Shipley’s as a second-grade teacher for the last 21 years.

Second grade was Derlink’s favorite grade to teach and where she devoted most of her career. She said she loved teaching reading and sharing novels with her class.

“My parents encouraged me to be a teacher,” Derlink said. “My dad said teaching would give me a great start toward any career. He was right, but I loved it so much that I never left the classroom.”

One of her fondest memories occurred every spring when she introduced her second-graders to eastern bluebirds, the only bluebird species native to Maryland. The Shipley’s Choice Eastern Bluebird Trail was established 20 years ago to teach children about the birds and how to identify different nests, calls and suitable habitats. Students monitor birdhouses and record data on what they find. Derlink said the students get excited when they find a nest and ultimately a tiny blue egg.

“The absolute best thing in the world is when I get to see the amazement in their eyes when they each get to stand up on the stool and peek in to see a newly hatched tiny little bluebird up close and in person,” Derlink explained. “That moment is just so incredible.”

For the last 34 Septembers, Derlink has been in the classroom, but she is ready for a change of scenery. “September seems to be when we have the absolute best weather. The ridiculously hot and humid days are gone, and the sky is that beautiful cornflower blue,” Derlink said. “It always seemed like the perfect time to relax at the beach … and that is exactly what I can’t wait to do!”

Karr-Dawson arrived at Shipley’s Choice in 2002 after a decade at Tracey’s Elementary School. She has taught kindergarten and first grade, with first grade being her favorite. Although education wasn’t what she thought she wanted to pursue, after working in a preschool while she was in college, she was clear where she wanted to be.

“I realized I wanted to work with kids for my career, but it was too late to change my major, so I got my master’s degree in education right after graduating college,” she said.

Karr-Dawson couldn’t choose a single event in her 34-year career to call a favorite, but she feels the June 10 farewell assembly at Shipley’s perfectly summed up years of individual special moments.

“The farewell assembly will be forever etched in my mind as the happiest and proudest moment in my career,” Karr-Dawson said. “So bittersweet but feeling proud of the impact I had on so many little lives.

“During my time teaching at Shipley’s, I have always felt like I was one part of something bigger,” she said. “My colleagues have been incredibly supportive through some very hard things in my life. I feel surrounded by friends here!”

Derlink echoed the sentiment and said, “This building is filled with the most caring and supportive staff. I could walk into any classroom at any time, and they would stop and offer to help with anything that I needed. I have made the best lifelong friends, and parents who have become family to me. I will miss that every day is filled with fun and excitement, curiosity and discovery, and being reminded that the little things are the big things when you’re a 7-year-old.”

Karr-Dawson, forever to be remembered as the teacher who was afraid of snakes, plans to return to Shipley’s as a substitute teacher, spend more time with her family and grandson, and travel.

“I am so thankful for my colleagues and will miss the daily interaction. Thank you for supporting me along this journey,” she said. “For my students, I am not OK with saying goodbye. You are like my family after spending all the years getting to know how special you are. This is not goodbye! It’s just ‘see you later!’”