By AMY ADAMS
For The Reporter
Fifty years ago, Westfield had one elementary school, Washington Elementary, the building that today is Westfield Intermediate School.
Marcie Durbin had completed her schooling at Ball State University and at Indiana University in Kokomo, and she did her student teaching at Washington Elementary. Offered a job at the school the following year, Durbin began what has become a noteworthy career in Westfield Washington Schools (WWS).
Durbin described the school in the early 1970s as having no carpet and only one telephone for the whole building – connected to the wall, of course.
Durbin taught first and second grade at Washington Elementary, then at Shamrock Springs Elementary when it opened. Now at Oak Trace Elementary, she works as a reading specialist.
“When I started, the schools didn’t have technology,” Durbin said. “Now we have Promethean boards instead of chalkboards and a computer in each classroom.”
Marcie Durbin reads A Cricket Sings to her students. (Photo provided)
Durbin remembers when the schools first introduced technology into the classrooms and each grade level shared one computer. Durbin served as the computer coordinator, making sure the computer got to classrooms and that teachers received assistance when needed.
A lot has changed in WWS in the last 50 years. There are now six elementary schools in the district with plans to add more. But, one aspect of WWS that hasn’t changed is that Mrs. Durbin is still teaching kids to read.
About six years ago, Durbin started teaching half days. Now, she works with 15 to 20 children in the mornings. Instructional assistant Jami Harris has worked with Durbin for about 15 years, and literacy teacher Jennifer Croner comes in to work with children in the afternoons. Their shared classroom is decorated from floor to ceiling with frogs. Smiling at students from rugs, banners, and signs, the cheerful mascots represent the acronym ‘LEEP,’ which stands for Literacy Enhancement Ensures Progress.
“I love what I do,” Durbin said. “I love when the kids get excited when they learn how to read. I hope I’ve made a great impact on families and kids.”
On Meet the Teacher Night, Durbin always asks if any of the parents had her as their teacher. Having taught approximately 1,000 students over her 50 years in the schools, it is not uncommon that she has had some of her students’ parents, or even grandparents, in her classroom.
As WWS Director of Communications Joshua Andrews pointed out, this fact also speaks highly of Westfield, in general, that families choose to stay in the community for generations.
“Marcie was actually my second-grade teacher a few years ago,” Harris said, laughing. “She also taught two of my children. I feel very fortunate. She was fun then, and she still is.”
Durbin also enjoys serenading her staff members on the accordion. (Photo provided)
Instructional assistant Krista Reynolds can also attest to Durbin’s fun side. As Reynolds celebrated her 50th birthday on Thursday, May 18, Durbin serenaded her with her trusty accordion. Admittedly, Durbin has never had an accordion lesson in her life, but that has never stopped her from entertaining her coworkers from time to time.
“Marcie is a lot of fun,” Oak Trace Principal Jane Hitch said. “She brings joy every day. She makes us laugh and makes other teachers want to be here.”
Durbin, Harris, Hitch, and other Oak Trace Elementary School staff members have been through a lot together, personally and professionally, especially over the past few years, including the pandemic that forced them to move to virtual and then distanced learning.
Durbin admitted that she thought about retiring when COVID hit. But, her son built shields for her classroom, and that inspired her to come back. Even though they had to slow down a bit and do a lot of review, Durbin and the kids adapted.
“She’s great at what she does,” Harris said. “Her patience and enthusiasm are amazing. The fire is still there in her even in her 50th year.”
You might think that Durbin would have been honored front and center at a recent retirement party. In fact, she has no plans to retire before next school year, and she even has her eye on a new reading system she’d like to try.
“What I love about Marcie is that she never stops learning,” Hitch said. “She doesn’t just do the same things that she’s always done. She’s always changing things up. She’s a hard worker, and she will push us to do what’s best for the kids. We’re lucky to have her.”
Her shared classroom is decked out with smiling frogs from ceiling to floor, reminding students of LEEP: Literacy Enhancement Ensures Progress. (Photo provided)