Mrs. Cheryl Burnett, a special education teacher at Powell High School, will be retiring after this school year.

Mrs. Burnett has been a special education teacher for 16 years in this district and has done three years of one-on-one para. She also substituted in the school district for six years, adding up to a total of 25 years in PCSD1.

“I went back to school and got my masters in Special Ed,” Mrs. Burnett said. “That was after I had taken on Para job for one year and decided I really liked the field.

She has made some great memories being with her kids that she works with. Along with other things, Mrs. Burnett will miss her kids the most.

But there isn’t only sadness in her thoughts as she ponders her retirement.

“I’m probably going to do some traveling and being around my grandkids,” Mrs. Burnett says. “Just doing what I want to do.”

Her plans include hopefully going to Maine, Alaska and even Norway.

“It’s really been a great opportunity to work with people that are so caring to kids,” Mrs. Burnett said. “My paras do a lot of work and help for our students.”

Mrs. Burnett has done a lot for PHS over the years.

“It’s a small group of kids that she works with,” math teacher Mr. Greg Stenlund said. “They’re going to really miss her passion to help make them better math students.”

Mrs. Burnett always put her students first and will be missed at PHS.

“She was just such a hard working colleague,” Mr. Stenlund said. “It was always a pleasure to have her in my class because she always had students first as her calling card.”

Principal Mr. James Kuhn agrees.

“Mrs. Burnett has had a very positive impact on many students in her time at PHS,” Mr. Kuhn said. “Her sense of humor, sense of compassion, interest in how best to meet student needs have always been attributes that have drawn students to her.”

The teachers of PHS will miss Mrs. Burnett just as much as the students will.

“Mrs. Burnett has been a leader on our staff and someone that other teachers respect and turn to for advice,” Mr. Kuhn said. “She is always willing to help in areas outside of teaching to help students or the school.”

In her time at PHS, Mrs. Burnett has improved many aspect of the school.

“I will miss her suggestions of ‘shut er’ down’ during various times of the school year,” Mr. Kuhn said. “She is one of the main reasons we have one of the top high school special education programs in the state.”