By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - After 27 years of teaching in the Niles Community Schools district, Ann Marie Molitor is hanging up her backpack for good.
Molitor has been the begindergarten teacher at Northside School for the past two decades and Wednesday marked her last official day in the classroom.
And so will the students. Gifts, hugs and laughs showered Molitor during her final week, and, as the final whistle was blown during recess Wednesday afternoon, Molitor received a hug from each one of her students as they headed off for summer vacation.
Wickham said Molitor has always given to the kids and the parents and she has been a very special part of the program.
Even with so many curriculum changes over the years, Molitor enjoyed learning and teaching new things, including the zoophonics program, which was introduced three years ago. Zoophonics was developed to teach children to become strong readers, spellers and writers through a whole brain, tactile and kinesthetic approach and Molitor said it's the greatest thing for the children.
Molitor said that she really enjoyed meeting and working with a number of different teachers while at Northside and that a lot of rewards have come out of teaching, like watching the children learn and become independent thinkers.
With reading, writing and telling nursery rhymes in the past, Molitor said she plans on spending time with her tired husband, traveling and catching up on her reading and quilting.
Molitor and her husband, Craig, have two children. Todd is a golf pro and manages a golf course and Nichole is an occupational therapist.