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Cathy Hejl is retiring after 19 years with Taylor ISD. |
tcrow@taylorisd.org
Hejl worked at the CDC, a licensed
daycare for children of Taylor ISD employees, for eighteen years. During that
time, she took care of responsibilities in the office as well as the classroom,
serving as the program’s director for twelve of those years. This year she moved
to T.H. Johnson where she continued to work with the district’s youngest
students.
TH Johnson Principal, Jenni
Cork, praised Hejl’s work with children at both THJ and the CDC.
“With Cathy’s
efforts, staff members were able to do their job knowing their children were
cared-for and loved. She has spent her last year working with our ECE students
at THJ, and we were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with
her. We wish her the very best in her retirement.”
When asked about her favorite
memories, Hejl smiles as she remembers the joy of watching her students grow
and develop new skills during the year.
“When the children came into
my room, they weren’t potty trained and they weren’t talking except they might
say ‘mama’, ‘daddy’, and ‘bye bye’. By the time December came, if they were an
older two, they were potty trained, and by the end of the year they were
talking. I really enjoyed seeing their progress.”
Main Street Intermediate school
librarian, KatiAnn Philhower, said returning to work after her babies were born
was much easier knowing they were being cared for by Hejl.
“As a working mom, it was hard to leave my beautiful
babies in daycare and go back to work,” Philhower said. “Luckily, my
children were in the most loving and capable hands when they were at the Taylor
CDC under Cathy Hejl’s watchful eyes. She always had a smile on her face and an
open door policy. No matter how many times during the day I emailed or called
her office for reassurance, she always made sure to get back to me and assure
me that my kids were fine.”
Hejl said another priority
was to help her young students build a foundation for success, both in school
and in life.
“We set the foundation to
want to learn, and to just to be a good person, and to try and teach them
manners and teach them social skills. We try to work with them so they will
have tools to work with when they get older. If someone is picking on them,
what do they do? If a child can’t handle it we step in, but we want them to
have the skills to be able to make it in the world.”
Hejl said the most difficult
part of her job came in May each year when school would dismiss for the summer.
“It makes me so sad in May
when we get out of school,” she said. “I just try to hide because I am very
emotional. I don’t want to turn them over to their parents for the summer. They
become like my babies and I miss them.”
When asked about any words
of advice she could pass on others who work with young children, Hejl replied,
“Be as warm as you can to them, and hopefully they will learn to be kind. Model
it and they can learn it. Use a calm voice. Try to understand where they are
coming from and how you can be a help.”
Hejl said former students
often return to the CDC asking if she remembers them.
“It makes you feel warm that
they would want to come back and say hi. Some are already graduated. They’re
not babies any more, but they are still our babies.”
Now that she is retired, Hejl said she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren. She also wants to travel, stopping at antique shops along the way.
Although she says she will
miss her students, she many wonderful memories of her years working at the
school
“I appreciate everyone being
so kind and supportive,” Hejl said. “This is a good school district. Not only
for the children, but for employees, too.”
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| Cathy Hejl visits with a group of Taylor ISD Ambassadors about the programs in place at the Child Development Center (CDC). She served as teacher, coordinator and director of the CDC, and also worked with students at TH Johnson before retiring in December. |
