Alderete Reflects on Thirty-Two "Wonderful" Years

Pat Alderete is retiring after 32 years
with Taylor ISD. 

tcrow@taylorisd.org 

Pat Nira-Alderete began working for the Taylor schools in the early 1980s as a substitute teacher. One day, T.H. Johnson principal, Ivan Leschber, walked into the classroom where she was subbing and asked if she wanted a full time job. 

“I said, ‘sure’,” Alderete recalls. “He said, ‘You can start tomorrow,’ and I went to central office to meet with the superintendent, (Bill) Borgers.”

For the next thirty-two years that she describes as “wonderful”, Alderete worked as an instructional assistant with students in second through fifth grades at T.H. Johnson Elementary. Over time, the grade levels at the campus changed, and when THJ closed its doors in 2013 for renovations, and 4^th and 5^th grades moved to Main Street Intermediate, Alderete made the move with them.

Leschber remembers Alderete as one of the best aides he had as a principal.

“Pat, Belinda, Bebe, and Miss Kitty were well respected by both students and teachers,” he said. “I doubt that many students did not know they were not teachers. Pat was a strong disciplinarian with a great work ethic.”

One of Alderete’s favorite memories is the annual track meet that was already a long standing tradition when she joined the THJ and MSI team.

“I’m thinking this must be the forty-sixth or forty-seventh year (for the track meet),” she commented. “The kids loved it, the parents love it. I was the DJ and played nothing but oldies.  Some of the kids from the early days, their kids are running now. And some have even gone on and made it a career.”

Alderete also said she has great memories of the people she has worked with, including some of her former teachers.

“I have worked with some awesome, awesome people,” she said. “When I came on board, some of my teachers were still here. Patty McCullough was still here, so was Mary Lu Haase and Amy Balusek. And I had all of them as teachers. I apologized to them for not being a very good student. But I learned a lot from them as a student and as a teacher.”

Other favorite memories include former principal, Reta Katz, allowing the staff to wear jeans during the month of December as her present to them, and the cookouts that Leschber would have for staff and students.

“He would jump the curb with his big old truck and big old barbecue grill and we knew it would be a fun lunch,” Alderete said. “He would pull out the barbecue pit and give the cafeteria ladies the day off. We would give sausage wraps to the kids.”

Current principal, Greg Crockett, said Alderete will be missed. “Though I only worked with Pat a few months, I came to admire the hard work she did on a daily basis. She will be majorly missed by the staff and students. I did tell her that she is welcome to come visit any time, especially on Fridays.  After all, now that she is leaving, who is going to pop the popcorn for us?  Best of luck, Pat, in your retirement!”

Crockett said Alderete was well known around MSI as the official popcorn popper for student celebrations each six weeks as well as providing the fresh popped treat for the staff each Friday.

Colleagues at MSI honored Alderete with a retirement party just before the holidays. She said her son posted a photo of the event on FB, and a number of former students posted some of their own memories in response.

“There were some that really, really touched my heart on how much I had touched them.  And without even realizing it. There were students I hadn’t heard from or seen in ages. I think that’s what is most rewarding, touching students’ lives. We may think we don’t, but we do.”

Now that she has retired, Alderete plans to spend more time with family.

 
“I’m hoping to take care of my grandkids,” she commented.” There are things I learned here at school that I want to teach them so when they start to school they will be better prepared. I also want to spend more time with my mom since we recently lost my dad.”

Although she is looking forward to a more flexible schedule, Alderete said she has enjoyed her career with the school district and retirement will be a big change.

“Taylor ISD has been awesome to me,” she commented. “I am very grateful to Taylor ISD. I will miss my friends, the people I have worked with for so many years.”

While Pat Alderete has become well known for her academic work with students in Taylor ISD classrooms, she has also become famous for providing fresh popped popcorn at student celebrations and as a treat for the faculty each Friday. Assisting her at the popcorn machine in a photo from last year are colleagues Mabel Becerra and Stephanie Banda. 

Pat Alderete brings in a fifty-pound bag of popcorn for a recent six-weeks celebration for MSI students who have met their goals