After 25 years of service, sixth grade teacher Mrs. Elaine Conrad will retire at the conclusion of this school year.

Conrad is a third generation Tyrone native who has lived in Tyrone most of her life.  She began her teaching career at Adams Elementary teaching Kindergarten in 1990.  She later moved to the middle school and has primarily been teaching sixth grade ever since.

According to Conrad, education has changed a great deal since she began her career.

“I taught Kindergarten for my first two years.  Back then it was half day and I remember having 30 students in the morning and 31 in the afternoon with no paraprofessional to assist me.  Then for sixth grade at Adams I taught all six subjects to the same students for the entire school day,” said Conrad.

Conrad’s choice to go into education was an easy one. “I always loved school and knew I wanted a job where I could help others,” said Conrad.

After graduating from Tyrone High School, Conrad attended Penn State Altoona for two years and Penn State main campus for two more, earning a degree in elementary education. She later received her master’s degree in reading education from West Virginia University.

Conrad began her teaching career in Tyrone but had to leave the district when the Conrad’s moved to Huntingdon, West Virginia due to her husband’s job.  She served a substitute teacher in West Virginia for several years until she and her family retuned to Tyrone to settle and raise their family.  Conrad was soon rehired by Tyrone to teach sixth grade at Adams School, and has been working in the district ever since.

According to Conrad, her favorite teaching memories are “any time a student has that ‘ah-ha’ moment of learning something new and exciting.”  She also has fond memories of the “Positive Pumpkin Halloween Parade” at Adams School when the students would parade down Adams and Columbia Avenue.  More recently she has enjoyed organizing Mexico Day for her students in sixth grade.

“I will miss the students and my co-workers,” said Conrad, “I won’t miss grading all the reports for the social studies fair, and all of the other paperwork, but Tyrone has a wonderful group of people working here who are dedicated and care. They are a great group to work with, but most of all I will miss my daily interactions with the students.”

“I’ve worked with Elaine for the past 20 years,” said fellow sixth grade teacher Scott Bouslough, “Elaine is extremely loyal to her family, especially her grandkids. She is one of the most organized people I know. She is loyal to her students as well as her co-workers. I will definitely miss her.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with Mrs. Conrad for the past 15 years.  She has always shown professionalism, dedication to her teaching, as well as generosity and kindness to others.  I will miss her as part of our sixth grade team.  Her contributions to our school will be remembered with fondness as she begins her new and exciting retirement,” said fellow sixth grade teacher Robyn Chamberlain.

After retirement, Conrad plans to spend a lot more time with her three granddaughters who live in Boston, Massachusetts.

She also hopes to read the many books that “have been calling [her] name,” and will pursue other hobbies such as reading, walking her dog, kayaking, hiking, skiing, cooking, and traveling.