It’s great to learn that Monongah’s schools are as fabulous as they were three score and seven years ago, to come within one score of matching the beginning of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Addresss, when I was irritating the teachers.

In my good ol’ days, Sister Agnes at Sts. Peter and Paul School was instilling a passion for grammar and words in me and Mary Turkovich, who was wicked in her worn girls’ basketball bloomers when faculty faced off against students and determined that you would not NOT learn math, algebra and geometry in her classroom at the foot of the stairs to the second floor, crammed into my psyche what would serve me financially in life, including 21 years of retirement, that made it possible for me to travel to 55 countries, 44 states and take 13 cruises.



John Olesky at Miss Turkovich's grave

I owe much of what I am today to Sister Agnes, Mary Turkovich and the people of Monongah who helped my parents rear me by trying to keep me on the straight on narrow, which was not an easy task.

My daughter is a fantastic teacher in the Aurora, Ohio school system. So much so that they give her keys to the building because she is there till 7 or 8 p.m. weekdays and comes in on Saturdays and Sundays so that she can do better by her students.

I gave her the highest compliment I could think of: The Mary Turkovich of Aurora Schools.

Sister Agnes, Mary Turkovich, my daughter LaQuita are SO valuable to society.

Well, Paula Cook McIntire belongs in that hallowed company, too, as 2017 Marion County Teacher of the Year for her exemplary influence at Monongah Elementary.

She’s a first grade teacher. That’s the portal to school life for her students. When Paula makes them comfortable with their surroundings and eager to learn, it will stick with them through – as it did with me – elementary, middle school, high school and college.

Being recognized for her exceptional teaching is nothing new for Paula. In 2016 she received the Fairmont State University Professional Development School Partnership Excellence in Teaching award.

Paula was a cheerleader during her Monongah Middle School days. Now she’s a cheerleader and guide for the most precious among us, the young first graders.

Paula’s path to her decade at Monongah Elementary took her to North Marion High, where she was in the Class of 1989; Fairmont State, for her batchelor’s degree in early education; to West Virginia University, where I was a Journalism School graduate, for her master’s in reading; and as a substitute teacher in Marion County, at Barnes and Rivesville Elementary, where my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, who still lives in Rivesville, was a substitute teacher in the Rivesville system for more than 20 years.

Her husband is Chris McIntire, director of Marion County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. That makes the McIntires a couple who are both doing good things for others.

Paula’s husband Chris and Stephanie McIntire’s husband since 2008, Dale McIntire, are first cousins.

 

I have visited Mary Turkovich’s grave with my children and grandchildren by my side and told them, “This is a real American hero, a teacher who refused to let her students NOT learn.”

Paula, I think Miss Turkovich is smiling down on you today and saying: “Well done, faithful servant to the children of Monongah. You have carried on my tradition.”

There are a lot of McIntires in Monongah school history, but I’m not sure where Paula fits into the family tree.

For example:

Cheryl “Sherry” Diane McIntire, Class of 1975.

Gene McIntire, the late Keith Dorman “Legs” Beckner’s seatmate on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. for those who served in the military as long ago as World War II, a trip that my Paula’s father, Paul (yes, they added an “a” to her dad’s name to come up with her name), also took. It was a memory of a lifetime for Paul Stone, who helped make America safe for democracy.

Lela Pudder McIntire, who grew up in Worthington but lives in Bingamon and is not related to Paula.

I’m everyone in Monongah is as proud of Paula McIntire as I am.

And Mary Turkovich is.

The Fairmont Times article about Paula McIntire:

‘Back at the school I grew up in’

Marion County Teacher of the Year Paula McIntire comes full circle

• By Carter Walker | Times West Virginian
• MONONGAH — From an early age, Paula McIntire knew she wanted to be a teacher.

“The kids are just good kids here,” McIntire, a first-grade teacher at Monongah Elementary, said. “I love my job, and I think that makes it easier when you love coming to work every day.”

McIntire grew up in Monongah, at the top of Swisher Hill Road, and went to Monongah Elementary in the 1970s when it was brand new.

“It’s nice to be back at the school I grew up in,” McIntire said. “It’s like coming home.”

The former Monongah student turned teacher has been named the Marion County Teacher of the Year for 2017.

Teaching in the same school that she attended in her youth is a comfortable experience, McIntire said, and it enables her to connect easier with her students because she knows many of their parents and relatives.

After moving to Monongah Middle School, McIntire began cheerleading, a passion she maintained throughout high school and college.

It was through cheerleading that McIntire said her passion for teaching was cultivated.

“I think that kind of led me down the right path,” McIntire said. “I think cheerleading does help you along the way.”

She said the structure of cheerleading, keeping up her grades and the mentors she met prepared her for teaching. The team, as well as individual, efforts required for cheerleading translate in teaching skills. McIntire said.

After graduating from North Marion High School in 1989, McIntire attended Fairmont State University, where she obtained a batchelor’s degree in early education.

Her education wasn’t over, though, and she went on to earn a master’s in reading from West Virginia University.

After college, McIntire worked as a substitute teacher for a time, and also at Barnes Learning Center and Rivesville Elementary School.

But for the past 10 years, McIntire has served at the place where it all began, Monongah Elementary.

“This is where my heart is,” McIntire said.

“Paula is a very kid-driven, student-driven teacher,” Monongah Elementary School principal Rob Moore said.

One of the biggest benefits that McIntire brings to the school is her outreach work with FSU, Moore said. She serves as the school’s professional development coordinator, which means she mentors students from FSU who are earning their education degree.

Six of the teachers at Monongah Elementary are former pupils of McIntire.

“They call me Momma Mac,” she said. “I make sure while they’re here that they’re part of the faculty, part of the staff.”

Ana Suter is a teacher at Monongah Elementary who once shadowed McIntire. She said she learned a lot from McIntire about classroom management.

"She is a great leader here at the school,” Suter said. “I did my clinicals with her, and she was great getting me on the right track to becoming a good teacher.”

Moore said McIntire is very organized, which is important for young learners.

“Paula is not only a teacher in the classroom, but she is a friend and a mentor and a good partner and a team player for this whole school,” Moore said.

McIntire said that working at Monongah is a great experience because of the connectedness of the staff. She said that the award belongs to the whole school, which she called wonderful, and she hope she has represented the school well.

While teaching has its challenges, McIntire said it is very rewarding. She said she loves her kids, past and present, and hope they love her too.

“When you see them come down the hallway, you get those hugs and those little smiles on their faces,” McIntire said. “It just makes you feel like I did my job for the day.”