Two Blue Jays Announce Retirements
Librarian Pam Proctor and Support Services teacher Liz Meeks-Washington are retiring from Southfield High School this June. Both have 32 years in education.
PAM PROCTOR
Proctor spent the last eight years of her career at Southfield High, helping students complete online research, acquiring new library materials to meet curriculum needs, and keeping the library in working order.
Prior to Southfield High, she worked as a librarian at Adler Elementary School and Dearborn.
She has run the school library and also served as a union representative for her fellow teachers in the Southfield Education
Association.
“Something I will remember (about Proctor) is how much of a University of Michigan fan she is,” said junior Joelle Jamerson.
Proctor has decorated her work space with University of Michigan posters and flags over the years to show her support for her beloved alma mater. Even her ID card hangs from a University of Michgan lanyard.
In her retirment, Proctor says she plans to spend time with her four grandchildren and travel. “I’m going west of the state to look at lighthouses,” she said. She also is planning a trip to Scotland in August, where her family is from, and another trip to Washington, D.C.
Proctor says she will never forget the time the computer system crashed during MAP testing, causing havoc as students attemped to finish online exams. She says she will not miss those hassels but will miss attending the school’s graduation ceremonies each June for which she outfitted the staff members in robes and hoods.
LIZ MEEKS-WASHINGTON
Wayne State University Warrior Meeks-Washington spent the last 12 of her 32 years in education at Southfield High and the rest at Detroit Pubic Schools, at Beaubien Middle School and McMichael Middle School.
“Helping improve student reading skills and teaching kids how to read are the little things we take for granted,” Meeds-Washington said.
Seeing that spark in a student who learns to read is what Meeks-Washington said she enjoyed most about teaching.
Freshman John Erby said, “I’m sad to see her go, but I will remember all the awesome times we had learning and singing.”
Paraprofessional Wendy Mayes, who works side by side in the classroom with Meeks-Washington, said, “Mrs. Meeks-Washington is awesome wih her students and she has been a delight to work with. We’ll miss her dearly.”
Meeks-Washington is marrried with a daughter and two grand-children. Washington’s daughter, Monique Jackson, who is a teacher at Brace-Lederle school in Southfield, will keep teaching going in the family.
At five feet four inches, the well-dressed Meeks-Washington says she plans on trading in the day-to-day lesson plans to travel. Her first agenda is a seven-day Alaskan cruise with her husband, Jerome Washington, and friends.
Washington said she felt it was time for her to retire and enjoy life while spending time with her family.
