As staff members and teachers leave the building they have made an impact on a student’s lives even when they do not know it. 

“I think everybody who becomes a teacher does it because they like to see that they’ve made an impact and they’ve changed in some way,” english teacher Casey Lindsted said.

Teachers decide to be teachers for different reasons. Linsted chose to be a teacher because he likes to teach students about different types of books.

“A lot of my great loves have been books, and I enjoy sharing them with other people.” Lindsted said. 

Science teacher Joe Conner wanted to be a teacher for a few different reasons.

“I just like to demonstrate and see students learn and be part of the education process,” Conner said.

Staff and teachers make an impact on students for different reasons. In the end, they do not want to leave the school but sometimes it is  for the better.

Business teacher Kellee Roberts does not want to leave, but it is the right time for her to do it. 

“There’s a lot of reasons, but we’ll go with my kids. My kids are grown and gone, and we want to move out to be closer to my husband’s family and where we are building a house on our family’s farm,” Roberts said. “I will be teaching business at Wichita North West.”

Tyler Patterson will be teaching business at Clearwater High School.

The children have a big impact on the staff and teachers even when they don’t know it. 

“They were probably like foster kids or they just moved along, but I’ve got notes thanking me for being kind and introducing them to people,” registrar Barb Smart said, “but just when the students thank me for anything, whether it’s a transcript or just a positive thought that I’ve said to them, when they thank me and they smile.” 

While those teachers will miss the students they will also miss the great people they got to work with like the staff and teachers throughout the building. 

“I will miss all of my friends and all of the people I got to work with and the students,” Conner said. 

While some teachers are not at one school for long, people they work with can still make a difference in their life.

“I will definitely miss the people in my department and of course all of my students,” Lindsted said.

While some students do not see what school is doing for them now they will realize in the future that things they learned in school were to help them in the real world.

“I think the best ones for me are not necessarily like what they say, but the fact that they like a couple years after they graduate will send me a message and say, ‘Hey, I did something today. That you taught me in class, you know, thank you for that.’” Roberts said.

School is a place to learn but also a time to have fun with others. 

“I always remember the funny stuff, it’s never anything meaningful,” Lindsted said. 

Even though they are leaving and will be missed, they will have memories from the school.

“The Branson trip or my trip with the barbershop up to the Harmony Explosion and seeing a packed house for the musical ‘We Will Rock You’ was pretty incredible and directing little shop of horrors. Those were some good times,” choir director Jerrod McNutt said. 

Some staff members are leaving because they are retiring and wanting to have fun outside of school.

“I am leaving to have more free time to go fishing,” special education teacher Regina Werner said. 

Garan Qualls will no longer be a teacher but will still be coaching baseball.

As the staff leaves there is always something a student said that will stick with them even when the student just said it to say it and thought that would be the end of that conversation. 

“You gave me a place to belong,” McNutt said. 

Each teacher will never forget their time they had at Augusta High School, the memories, the staff they worked with will stay with them on their journey ahead in life.