Kids 'want to be loved,' retiring Highlands 1st-grade teacher says

Rita Youell was just settling into a discussion of her more than two decade teaching career when one of her former students walked through her door Thursday.

Bobby Reesman was just a little boy when Youell had him for first grade 15 years ago in the 2003-04 school year. He was grown, tall and wearing his Army Reserve uniform when he walked into her room at Highlands Elementary School bearing flowers.

Reesman, 22, said his mother told him his former teacher was retiring. He came to see her on the last full day of the school year.

“I wasn’t a smart kid,” he said. “She was able to slow stuff down for me.”

Seeing her former student perked up Youell, who was suffering from a bit of a cold.

“It’s the greatest thing when you see them all grown up and they’re doing well,” she said.

Youell, 63, of Buffalo Township is retiring after teaching 22 years in the Highlands School District, 20 as a first grade teacher. A mother of three sons — Andy, 39; Chris, 36; and David, 32 — she started her career late after being a stay-at-home mom.

A West Virginia native, she and her husband of 44 years, Jeff Youell, a retired electrical engineer and pastor, lived in Tarentum for 23 years before moving to Buffalo Township, where they’ve been for seven years.

Her husband’s ministry brought them to Tarentum.

Youell worked as a classroom aide in Highlands for a year before deciding to get her teaching certificate. She started teaching second grade at the former Heights Elementary School, where Sheetz now is in Harrison, and then kindergarten for a year before teaching first grade.

“I really like kids a lot,” she said. “I wanted to help them in some way. Teaching was the area that seemed to be best to be able to do that.”

Youell got her teaching certificate from the University of Pittsburgh, and her bachelor’s degree in education from Appalachian Bible College in West Virginia.

She wanted to teach in Highlands. “I wanted to be here because this district is important to me,” she said. “It’s where my kids are. I wanted to be serving here.”

As a grade level teacher, she teaches everything — reading, math, grammar, science and social studies.

Teaching writing is the hardest. “There’s a lot of one-on-one work with that,” she said.

And teaching reading, she said, scared her to death, because she knew it would be the foundation of her students’ reading ability and they were depending on her.

Marissa Callender had Youell for first grade. Graduating this year as class valedictorian, she remembers her former teacher fondly.

“Mrs. Youell is one of the kindest people ever. She took us all under her wings,” she said. “Mrs. Youell was just so kind-hearted and she had such a good spirit. She was the beginning of everything.”

Youell enjoys seeing her students grow, which she said is different for every kid. She keeps their work from the start of the year, such as their handwriting, to compare it to what they can do at the end.

“They come to you with different abilities and different needs,” she said. “My obligation is to teach at each level they are.”

She’s least enjoyed the paperwork — making lesson plans, grading papers. And that part of the job has only increased over the years, she said.

The kids, though, are the same.

“They want to be loved. They want to be safe. They want to feel they’re important and know they’re good at something,” she said.

“We have a lot of good families in this district,” she said. “I want people to understand that’s so.”

To help their children, Youell suggests parents limit their screen time and emphasize the importance of interacting with other people.

Too much time with electronics is impacting children’s ability to pay attention. “It can be challenging for them to focus,” she said.

The Highlands school year, and Youell’s career, came to an end Friday. She plans to spend time with her husband and three grandchildren.

Originally a high school, Highlands Elementary School is a big building, and getting around it has been taxing for Youell.

“This summer I just want to rest,” she said. “I need some good rest. I feel tired. After that, we’ll see.”

Youell said she’ll miss the kids.

“I wanted to be the kind of teacher I would want my boys to have,” she said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity I had. This is where God had me be, to help little people learn. I’m thankful for that opportunity.”