STOCKTON– The 2024 school year is coming to an end, and with this short time left we must take time to recognize teachers that have chosen to wrap up their teaching careers, and enter the point of retirement. Many of these teachers have been teachers for decades, having taught current students as well as their parents. In order to highlight their lifelong career, I asked a few of these teachers questions on the basis of their overall career, their favorite memories and what their future plans will be. 

Mrs. Dickerson (US and World History)–

Mrs. Dickerson, who has been teaching for 30 years, describes how she started off teaching at the San Joaquin Office of Education, One program. She says, “My first position with them was at Peterson Juvenile Hall.  They were awesome students, a very captive audience! But really they were great kids, many that just had to grow up too fast, and many that didn’t ever enjoy a childhood.” After 7 years, she transitioned to the Lincoln School District, becoming the Assistant Principal at Lincoln Elementary and Village Oaks then later became the US and World History teacher at Lincoln, deciding to stick to this position for 20 years. 

In the One Program, Mrs. Dickerson had the opportunity to select students to participate in an event called “Ride the Rim”, which consisted of a bike ride around Lake Tahoe. She explains, “We rode halfway around and then camped and finished the trip the next day. That was an experience I will always have.” She also has been on a few Education First Tours to Europe, which was a memorable experience for her. In her career she has appreciated meeting all kinds of people, students and collaborating with talented teachers and colleagues. This feature of creating bonds with individuals is something she dreads to leave behind. Mrs. Dickerson states, “I will miss building new relationships and getting to know the new generations and how they come through, but I know there are some really awesome new teachers ready to fill the spots that we are leaving.”

Ironically, with lots of free time  after retiring, she simply plans on spending time in her backyard.  She explains, “I think my dogs are going to be very happy that I do not have to leave every day.” She will also be spending time with her grandchildren, soon to be having a new addition to her family, with a grandson in August! In the near future, she will soon be going to Montreal, Quebec to visit her father and starting up on her “free time plans”, even considering taking an art class at the local community college, Delta. She sums up her retirement plans by stating , “I will sleep in, dilly-dally, read, relax, enjoy.”

Mr. Greeno (Math)-

Mr. Greeno, who is also known as Coach Greeno by many, has taught for a total of 33 years, 18 of those years at Lincoln. As a teacher and a coach, he has had separate fond memories whilst being part of the LHS faculty. As a varsity basketball coach, he says his favorite aspect was “The relationships with players and families from when they first entered the Lincoln Pressure feeder program up through their time playing for me on the varsity team.” While being a math teacher, he has enjoyed “Seeing so many students over the years, finally understanding math concepts and learning to believe in themselves.” After he retires from his teaching career, he says that he will become a full-time pastor.

Mr. Griley (British/ World Literature)-

Mr. Griley has been teaching for 30 years, 2 years at Pescadero High School and 28 years at Lincoln. While Mr. Griley has taught as an English teacher, that has not stopped him from exploring separate passions, which he describes when a group of him and other teachers competed at Lincoln High’s own carnival during Spirit Week. He explains, “I and a group of other teachers formed the band Ed and the Educators for the battle of the band’s competition.” Many may not know this but Mr. Griley, in the past, was an advisor to our very own Lincolnian for about 15 years. His next plan after retiring is to rent a house in Key West for about a week with his family.  In the future, he is aiming to move to South Carolina.

Mr. Kimball (Choir)- 

Mr. Kimball has taught in the Lincoln Unified School District for 36 years, much of this time, teaching at different schools, paired with different classes. He has taught as a Choir, Music, Orchestra, Piano and Band teacher, as well as teaching at TCK, Village Oaks and, of course, Lincoln. In addition, he has directed musicals at Lincoln for 16 years! Mr. Kimball has many astonishing achievements, which include performing with Foreigner at Ironstone Vineyards and combining the LHS String Orchestra with some of the band members to form a full orchestra. He was a defining figure in taking part in the construction of our very own Performing Arts Center, explaining, “I helped the PAC get built from campaigning by voters to pass Bond Measure A which paid for it, to being in meetings where we designed it.” 

As a father, he had the opportunity to teach his own children at Lincoln and TCK. After having taught thousands of students the joy of music, Mr. Kimball plans on spending much of his retirement time with family, particularly with his grandson, visiting friends and enjoying activities like nature hikes, conducting, acting and attending museums. 

Mrs. Laird (Resource Specialist)- 

Mrs. Laird first taught at Manteca Unified and at a private preschool before coming to teach at Lincoln for 13 years. She has in total been teaching for 40 years. She explains, “a favorite memory is when students learn a concept and their eyes light up because they know they have learned something new.” Once retired she plans on taking some self-care time towards her well-being, while also spending time with her family. 

Mrs. Malloy (Child Development)-

Mrs. Malloy did not start as a permanent teacher at Lincoln, as she served as a student teacher at Lincoln in 1982 and was later hired as a permanent teacher the following year. Since 1983, she has taught at Lincoln for 41 years, making many great memories throughout her career. Her drive thus far has come from seeing her students succeed in their endeavors. While each year of teaching has brought fond memories for Mrs. Malloy, she explains, her favorite years were when her twins attended school. She states, “the years my son and daughter were here were the best. Class of 2008.” 

In her years after retiring she plans on taking much of this time traveling, saving her first trip to Hawaii as she has a special opportunity to do so. She explains, “My son is a Hawaiian Airlines pilot, so I fly almost for free.” Like many others, she will be spending time with family and friends and making time to volunteer, specifically volunteering to hold premature babies at the hospital and fostering rescued golden retrievers. As a member of the Surfrider Foundation, she will take the opportunity to volunteer at their beach cleanups, supporting the notion of keeping the ocean and beaches clean. 

Mrs. Wolf (Piano)-

Mrs. Wolf’s career has consisted of teaching at every school in the district besides the STEM Charter. She, in fact, has taught at Aptos High, UOP, and Temple University, and South Tahoe High. In 1987, she transferred to Lincoln and her teaching career has lasted for 43 years. 

Mrs. Wolf says that she does not have a particular favorite memory from her teaching career. She reiterated this by explaining, “There isn’t just one, but every time a student learns what I am trying to teach, has that “ah ha!” moment, it is just thrilling!” As she retires she is going to go back to her roots, performing as a musician and even learning a new instrument. A key feature of the retirement life she is anticipating is not waking up every morning to a 5:30 alarm. 

Mrs. Yanko (World History)-

Mrs. Yanko’s career has consisted of starting to teach at Claudia Landeen, then Don Riggio School, Pacific School, and ending her career with teaching for 11 years at Lincoln, racking up a career spanning 35 years. She says that she has loved her experience teaching the students of Lincoln High. She enjoyed hosting a mock-election where students were able to partake in the democratic process and learn about our rights and responsibilities as citizens. At LHS she has also enjoyed overseeing her daughters as they moved through Lincoln. She also had a great time being a part of many Dramatic Productions at Don Riggio, in which she guided students who created gymnastic and dance routines for the play. In addition, at Claudia Landeen, she had the opportunity to produce a play, Tom Sawyer, with the 3rd graders. She also had a unique opportunity to have a class pet, explaining, “At Don Riggio-the fun of having a class pet “BunBun” who children all over the school came to my class to visit.”

In her time she has enjoyed learning about her students and creating valuable friendships, stating, “And over the course of 35 years, at every school, getting to know amazing students and their families….working and becoming friends with intelligent, creative, compassionate, interesting colleagues who have bettered my teaching just by being inspired by them.” Like Mrs. Wolf, Mrs. Yanko will also be looking forward to sleeping in every day. She has plenty of hobbies and interests to keep her busy, like training for open water swimming, artistic pursuits, yoga, and reading, as her literature now does not have to tie to her curriculum or teaching practices. 

Mrs. Bott (English 9)-

Mrs. Bott has taught middle school and high school for a total of 24 years and served as a counselor for 6 years. What really has stuck with Mrs. Bott, over the years, has been realizing from former students that what they learned in class lives, stayed with them and even impacted their lives positively. She gives some examples from former students, and their input. She explains, “Like the student who majored in Anthropology at Arizona State because of the class she took with me. Or the student who said he could talk to his sister’s South African boyfriend because of what he learned about apartheid in our class. Or the one who said she loved her talks with her grandfather about WWII because of what we studied.” 

The greatest memory for her is when a former student went up to her while out with friends, and explained how Mrs. Bott influenced the student to become a teacher. For her future plans, she wants to visit family and friends in New Orleans and Italy. Mrs. Bott is not quite done totally with her teaching career as she aspires to mentor new incoming teachers. She states “I want to offer all the support I can so they enjoy the profession as much as I have.”