As the 2022-23 school year winds down, Herkimer Central School District is focusing the Spotlight Q&A feature on Herkimer CSD retirees.
Spotlight on: Sylvia Lowell
Academic support teacher
“I am proud of my amazing students and their accomplishments.”
Q. When is your specific retirement date?
A. July 1, 2023
Q. When did you start working at Herkimer CSD?
A. Sept. 2, 1997
Q. What was your position when you started at Herkimer CSD?
A. I’ve taught many different grades over the years. My first position was as a second grade teacher, but that was only for one year.
Q. Are there other roles you had while at Herkimer CSD that you would like to mention?
A. I taught fourth grade for eight years, fifth grade for 13 years, then moved to the middle school with the sixth grade team and taught sixth grade for three years, then finally took on the role of academic support teacher for the final two years. I also was club advisor for many clubs including: STEM, Library Club, Newspaper Club and First Lego League Coach.
Q. Are you also a Herkimer CSD graduate? If so, what year did you graduate?
A. Yes, I graduated from Herkimer in 1979.
Q. What is a memory you would like to share from your time at Herkimer CSD?
A. My favorite memories are all of the silly things I’ve done with my students over the years. I remember a “wedding” for the class mascots one year (stuffed animals), and I remember all the failed science demonstrations I attempted. I also tried to have class pets a few times. I had a pair of finches that were very loud, and a couple geckos that had to be fed live crickets.
Q. What is something you are particularly proud of from your time working at Herkimer CSD?
A. I am proud of my amazing students and their accomplishments.
Q. What are your plans for retirement?
A. Who knows!? I don’t have anything mapped out, but I can’t imagine not spending time helping kids, so that might lead me to something interesting.
Q. When you reflect on retiring from Herkimer CSD, what do you think about?
A. I think about all the other talented teachers that I learned from. No one does this job alone, and without the wonderful people I’ve worked alongside over the years, I wouldn’t have been half the teacher that I was able to become.