A lot has happened in 34 years.
Becoming a teacher isn’t what Sandra Whalen set out to do, but after she took an elementary education class at Eastern Illinois University, it became apparent that being in the classroom with children is what she wanted to do.
“I really loved being creative, and elementary teaching allowed me to use my creativity to have fun while teaching kids,” she said.
Whalen began her teaching career as a long-term fifth- and sixth-grade substitute teacher at Martin Luther King Elementary School, in Urbana.
Whalen started in what has become the Heritage School District when a kindergarten position opened up at ABL (Allerton- Broadlands-Longview).
“I thought I wanted to stay at that (fifth- and sixth-) grade, but when a kindergarten job came up at ABL, I decided to apply since I had an early childhood concentration,” Whalen said.
She stayed in kindergarten for 19 years before deciding to teach first grade in her 20th year. A few years later, a second-grade position opened up, and that’s where Whalen has been for the last nine years.
“I loved teaching kindergarten and first grades, but I think second grade has been my favorite,” she said.
While state mandates and state testing have changed the rhythm of what many teachers do in the classroom, Whalen has always had her mission set to provide children with a safe and fun learning environment.
“Academically, I hope the kids take with them the skills needed to be successful the next school year,” she said. “I want them to know that working hard is the most important thing. They may all be at different academic levels, but if they work hard, they will be successful in whatever they do.
“I hope that the children in my classes learn that they are all smart, all have special talents, and are all important. I want them to leave feeling good about themselves. I want my former students to remember my classroom fondly and know that I felt they were special in their own way.”
Being in the same area for 34 years, she’s watched students grow up, move on or raise their own families in the close-knit East Central Illinois community.
“One of my favorite parts of teaching, is having children in my class who are children of former students,” Whalen said. “It is so fun to see how my former students have grown from little kids into parents.
I love to see the similarities of the children to their parents at that age. My kids get a real kick out of knowing that I was their parents’ teacher, too!”
From little minds learning how to read, to teenagers looking to reconnect, Whalen feels like the impact she’s made on students’ lives over her time as a teacher has been rewarding.
“I love it when people come up and say, ‘Mrs. Whalen, do you remember me?’ ” she said.
“My answer is always, ‘of course I do! You were one of my kids!’ ”
Whalen attributes part of her successful career to the staff she works beside each day.
“I have loved teaching at Heritage,” she said. “The staff is fantastic to work with and the administration is great.
“Everyone here really puts the children first and tries to make a caring, safe environment for all kids. I have enjoyed working with all the kids, and the parents at Heritage are wonderful to work with as well.”
About a month away from the final day in her own classroom, Whalen has plans to travel and connect with her family.
“My husband and I are planning on camping a lot in the future,” Whalen said. “We would especially like to go out west and ‘see the sights’. We enjoy fishing, visiting wineries, and music concerts.
“We are also hoping to spend some time visiting our girls and their families in Missouri.”
But staying away from the Heritage community won’t be something Whalen can do for long. She already knows that she will want to help the district as a substitute teacher in the upcoming years.
“I really love the Heritage/ABL school district and have met so many great people in this area,” Whalen said. “I kinda feel like it is my home community.”
