Four teachers, Jan Preston, Cindy Avers, Barb Travis, and Barb Smith, will have given a combined 128 years teaching when they retire from Woodmore Schools at the end of this school year.

Jan Preston, who will retire this year after being at Woodmore for 39 years, has been a teacher and a full-time counselor. She has had a great impact on Woodmore students and staff.

Preston taught senior English, freshman English, middle school Language Arts, high school speech, middle school personal development and a middle school peer facilitator's class. She loves working with students and helping them along their path of education, she said.

Cindy Avers and Jan Preston. (Window to Woodmore photo by Brianna Schwartz)

Third grade teachers Barb Smith and Barb Travis. (Window to Woodmore photo by Josh Majchszak)

“The students are phenomenal, no question about that,” Preston said. She has also been involved with many school activities including serving on the Leadership Board, as seventh- and ninth-grade district testing coordinator and as student service coordinator.

After retiring this year, she plans to spend more time with her husband and looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren. She is also eager to have more free time to visit with her son, who is in the military.

Nancy Slotterbeck will miss her helping hand.

“Her absences in this school will have a profound effect,” said Slotterbeck, who added that she has found it a lot of fun working with Preston.

“She is wonderful, a true friend and a professional,” Slotterbeck added.

Preston has a great relationship with the staff, students and parents and will be greatly missed.

Cindy Avers has blessed Woodmore with her presence for the past 35 years. Before starting full-time at Woodmore she taught migrant school and was also a substitute.

During her years at Woodmore, Avers has taught first grade, migrant school, geography, language arts, Latin, ACT prep, math and her favorite, French. She enjoys seeing the students grow academically and knowing that she played a role in that happening, she said, adding that she has accumulated many memories while at Woodmore but one stands out as her favorite.

“I've had many great memories at this school but the best would have to be starting at the elementary and transitioning to high school and especially my French classes,” Avers said.

After retirement, Avers plans to travel to Europe and out west to Colorado.

Avers will be greatly missed and she will equally miss Woodmore. She says the thing she will miss most is teaching her students something they have not learned before and all of her students in general.

Elementary teachers
At the end of this school year, Woodmore Elementary will be saying good-bye to two beloved staff members, Barb Travis and Barb Smith.

Barb Smith has been teaching for 29 years. She has taught grades K-3 at two different schools, Benton-Carroll-Salem and Woodmore. She attended Boardman High in Youngstown, and then went to Bowling Green State University, where she graduated in 1967.

Smith is currently teaching third grade, her self-proclaimed favorite grade to teach, and enjoys teaching math and science. Over her 25 years of teaching at WES, her favorite memories involve reading to children and laughing with her fellow teachers, she said.

When asked why she decided to retire, Smith responded, “It just feels right, and I want to spend more time with my family, especially my grandchildren.” She also plans to travel in her newfound free time.

Barb Travis has been teaching for a total of 29 years, and has taught kindergarten, first, second and third grades.

“Third grade is my favorite grade I've taught,” said Travis.

All of the years she has taught have been at Woodmore. She’s also an alumnae, having graduated from Woodmore High School in 1972. She then attended Bowling Green State University.

Although she loves her job and enjoys helping kids, she feels it's time to retire, she said. She will miss working with all of her students and the lunch bunch, she added.

One of her most memorable moments while teaching was a time when the third- and fourth-grade teachers performed in a talent show and played the recorders like the kids played with them. As they performed it, they wore crazy hats, funny glasses and mustaches.

(Reprinted with permission from the April 2011 edition of Window to Woodmore, a student publication. Anastasia Dombrowski, Tyler Thieroff, Josh Majchszak, and Zakk Post are staff writers).

Pic-Avers-Preston
Cindy Avers and Jan Preston. (Window to Woodmore photo by Brianna Schwartz)

Pic-Smith-Travis
Third grade teachers Barb Smith and Barb Travis. (Window to Woodmore photo by Josh Majchszak)

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