Since the announcement two weeks ago, Mrs. Kathy Moran’s decision to retire has left many of her former students surprised and distressed. The transition to a new G&T and AP Lang teacher will be very difficult for students scheduled to have her.
Moran started her teaching career 40 years ago, and has since spent 36 of those years teaching at Colonia High School. Ranging from S-track & Basic Skills to AP & G&T, Moran has taught every English class available over the years.
“I was always influenced by my mother,” Moran reflects, “She was a teacher, and she would always come home telling wonderful stories about her students and the progress they made. Teaching is a wonderful way to give back.”
Moran always had a love for English, and always spent her free time reading stories, plays, songs, poems, etc. She maintained a true love for the language, and worked for decades mastering her dialect.
One of the driving forces behind her incredible teaching career was the motivating and rewarding response from her students. “I loved to earn respect from my students,” said Moran, “When I knew my students trusted me, I knew I was on the right track.”
Since starting at Colonia High School, Mrs. Moran has gained an incredible reputation for herself: for her patience, determination, and desire for her students to succeed. To her, English was more than a class, teaching was more than a job, and a student was far more than a number. To Moran, teaching was ‘an art.’ The goal of her classes went far beyond preparing students for the AP exam or the finals, but rather her objective was to train each of her students to become problem solvers, creative thinkers, and innovators – to go out into the world with a better overall understanding, and maybe even change the world someday.
“She’s the nicest teacher I ever had,” explained AP Lang student Sam Pero.
One defining characteristic of Mrs. Moran’s teaching ability was her willingness to work with each student individually. While teaching the class as a whole, Mrs. Moran also took the time to explain the lessons to anyone who may have fell behind. With each graded assignment, every student got a personal evaluation, and suggestions for how to make their work better.
“Her teacher-student connection was great,” noted former Moran student, Ella Lipuano.
Her announcement to retire came as a surprise to everyone since she loves being in the classroom.
“Things come to an end, I guess,” commented AP Lang student Sandeep Shah sadly.
Mrs. Moran’s teaching legacy will officially come to a close in two weeks time. It is strongly recommended for anyone wanting to give a parting message or visit one last time to stop by Mrs. Moran’s classroom before the end of the school year.
Now, as the cluttered walls of Room 201 fade to emptiness, and past projects and memories fade away, the path is paved for a new teacher to carry the torch that Mrs. Moran once held. While there is speculation as to who will teach her scheduled AP Lang and G&T classes next year, one thing is certain: no one will ever replace Mrs. Moran.
Timothy Arnold • Dec 11, 2021 at 9:18 pm
Back in the mid-1990’s, Mrs. Moran was both an encouraging teacher and leader to me. She would always press our FPS group to delve deeper into the situations we were presented, and she always seemed to speak so eloquently. She was one of those few teachers you remember for your entire life; teaching (and learning) was more than a job to her, it was a lifestyle!