BROWNSTOWN
While they specialized in different areas of education, three Brownstown Elementary School staff members shared one thing in common: They were able to work with many children for more than one year in school.
Carolyn Ira taught special education, Cindy Koop was a special education resource teacher in English and math and Pam Rodriguez was the speech therapist.
They have two other things in common: They retired at the end of the 2020-21 school year, and they each finished their career with 40-plus years in education.
Carolyn Ira
Ira graduated from Brownstown Central High School in 1977 and Ball State University in 1981, earning a special education degree.
She later earned a master’s degree in learning disabilities and emotional handicaps from Indiana University.
She actually planned on going to Ball State to study journalism so she could write for women’s magazines. The summer before she started there, however, time spent at Muscatatuck State Hospital changed her education track.
“After that, I fell in love with special education and never looked back,” Ira said.
“I think that sometimes, students that have difficulties are misunderstood,” she said. “We concentrate so much of the time on what students can’t do versus what they can do, and some don’t have a voice, and I saw that at the state hospital. Some (people) had asked me ‘Why do they have to have an education?’ and I said, ‘So their life will be better.'”
She also said every person needs to continually learn to whatever degree they can learn.
“Sometimes, we forget that they teach us, probably more than I’ve taught them,” she said of her students.
Ira began teaching at Lawless Junior-Senior High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. After 18 months there, she returned to her hometown and taught for three years at BES.
When that classroom was moved to Bedford, she started the special education program at Brownstown Central High School.
“Oh, it has evolved so much. It has grown in so many different ways,” she said.
She remained at BCHS until this school year when she returned to BES.
“When I see kids from all those years ago that now they have families and to see that they are productive citizens, that they hold jobs and have gone to college when some of them graduate and being invited to their showers and their weddings and just being a part of so much of that, that’s my reward,” Ira said.
The biggest reward isn’t her paycheck, she said.
“It’s a kid coming up to you at the Jackson County Fair and they know my first words out of my mouth are ‘So what are you doing now?’ ‘I’ve got a job, Mrs. Ira,'” she said. “Those are the things that mean more than all of this other stuff.”
In retirement, Ira plans to spend more time with her husband, Frank, and other family.
“We have seven grandkids, and it’s time. Forty years, it’s time,” she said. “It’s bittersweet. I’ve enjoyed this year. It’s all I know.”
She and Frank have four children, and their grandchildren range in age from 7 months to 16 years. They want to spend time with family and do some traveling.
Cindy Koop
Koop also is a Jackson County native, graduating from Crothersville High School in 1976.
She received a degree in elementary education with a focus on early childhood from Indiana University Southeast in 1980 and later earned a master’s degree in special education.
Her mother was a horticulture teacher in Crothersville for many years, and an aunt and a cousin also were teachers.
“I knew from probably third grade on I wanted to be a teacher,” Koop said.
In 1980, she started at the Sunshine School in Seymour, which was operated by Developmental Services Inc. She was the teacher for the 3- and 4-year-old special education preschool.
“I went to be a gen ed or kindergarten teacher, but jobs were hard to come by when I got out of college, so I landed this job with Developmental Services, and I loved it,” she said. “I loved working with the special little kids.”
She remained there until 1991 when a law changed, making public schools responsible for early childhood special education.
Koop then spent eight years at BES teaching special education preschool half of the day and resource for math and reading the other half.
“Then there just became too many preschool kids, so we had to split, and I chose to go with the older kids,” Koop said of just serving as a resource teacher for students with special needs the past 18 years.
During her 41 years in education, Koop said she got a lot out of helping kids.
“I do get to see a lot when I get them very young, and now, I even know some of them as adults,” she said. “That part is rewarding to see them get married and get a job and move on.”
Like Ira, Koop said she knew it was time to retire.
“After 41 years, it’s time. I just want to be done,” she said. “My husband (Marty) is retired, and it’s just time.”
She plans to spend more time with her family, which also includes her only child, Aaron, and also do some reading and yard work.
Pam Rodriguez
Rodriguez hails from Mobile, Alabama.
After finishing high school there, she stayed in her hometown to attend the University of South Alabama and earn a speech pathology degree.
“I didn’t want to work with a large number of people, but I wanted to work with people, and I wanted to help people,” she said.
She began school studying physical therapy but then took a class in the speech pathology department.
“I just loved it,” she said. “I loved the people, loved the professors, and so from that point on, I moved to speech.”
Her first job in 1981 was serving as a speech pathologist for Baldwin County schools in Alabama. She went on to earn her master’s degree four years later.
Over the years, she spent most of her career working in schools, including the past seven at BES.
“I just think this has been a cherry on the top,” Rodriguez said. “This has been a great place. I have enjoyed the teachers, the kids, the staff. I think Chrystal (Street, principal) is awesome. She’s a great leader. She has allowed me, she has trusted me to do my job and helped me do that.”
She said she has enjoyed helping kids who struggle speaking, pronouncing letters and words and using words to make sentences overcome those issues.
“I have the best job in the school,” she said, smiling, of working with many students throughout their time in elementary. “I have been blessed to really enjoy what I do.”
She, too, said it wasn’t a hard decision to retire.
“My husband (Jimmy) has a different schedule, and I have a different schedule, and our kids (Allison, Adam and Andrew) are all over the place. We just needed to simplify things,” she said. “Right now, I really do feel like there’s so much to do that I don’t do some things I really want to do. I am just looking forward to less busyness.”
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Brownstown Central Community School Corp. 2021 retirees
Teresa Cutter, elementary school cafeteria aide, 21 years
Jody Hall, elementary school instructional aide, 17 years
Carolyn Ira, high school and elementary school special education teacher, 39 years
Cindy Koop, elementary school special education resource teacher, 30 years
Joyce McKinney, nursing supervisor/school nurse, 15 years
Jill Miller, elementary school guidance counselor, 18 years
Pam Rodriguez, elementary school speech therapist, 7 years
Deb Schwartz, high school special education teacher, 19 years
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