In 2015, Hutsell retired after 33 years of teaching. Her first round of teaching at Groom School began in 1982 as a teacher's aide. Then she became the kindergarten teacher the following year. Before coming to Groom, Hutsell followed in her mom's footsteps and taught freshman, sophomore and junior English at Wheeler in the 1979-80 school year. Hutsell's mom, Dorothy Vickers, taught English in Groom in the 1940s. Now, though, Hutsell's path has led her to serve a much younger crowd.
"I love my job," Hutsell said.
Hutsell offered this …show more content…
One of the challenges included going back to school to get a Kindergarten certificate while having "two babies," now adult daughters Mary Muckinhaupt and Sarah Hutsell, at home.
"They didn't have Kindergarten when I was in school," Hutsell said.
Hutsell said she didn't have a hard time in school because her mom taught her and her sister, Marcia Davis, a former Groom first-grade teacher. Vickers taught Hutsell and her sister how to write their names, and they played school growing up to get a little fun in with the learning.
" I would like to teach until my husband retires," Hutsell said. "It's kind of boring to be at home alone. "
Her sister also continues to work in education as a librarian in Amarillo. Before coming out of retirement, Hutsell joined several Bible studies with some of her other retired teacher friends and did chores around the house and yard. For now, though, she said she is enjoying helping young learners get a good start on their future successes.
"It makes me happy to see students graduate," Hutsell said. "Especially when I taught them in