Shelly Krause was a beacon of light in room 212 for 21 years until she retired from teaching at Sahuaro. She truly loved her job and would make it a point to smile at everyone and be the person students could always come to for advice or if they needed to talk to someone. During her 21 years of teaching, Ms.Krause saw lots of changes throughout the education system and teaching as a whole and noted, “The introduction of technology like smart boards and computers was a big change because it impacted the way you teach.” After Krause’s retirement in May, she decided to take on online teaching full-time at TUVA (Tucson Unified Virtual Academy). She also stated that “As a full-time career, I would prefer in-person teaching because developing interpersonal relationships is easier, but since I’ve had a lot of years doing that, I’m grateful for the opportunity to do something different and be at the forefront of what is undoubtedly going to be the future of education.  I believe that in my lifetime we will see education change so that brick-and-mortar schools become very rare.  I have had the best of both worlds.”

What does a day of online teaching for Krause look like? She said: “I walk barefoot from my couch to my spare bedroom, log on, and start teaching.  I try to stand up throughout the day because I’m not used to sitting that long, and sometimes I go for a walk during my lunch just to be a little more active.” Ms.Krause shared some of the pros and cons of teaching online by saying, “I have learned a lot of new technology skills and it’s easy to communicate with students and parents.” Some cons she shared were it being hard to get to know students through computer screens and sitting down too much. Some of Krause’s fondest memories from Sahuaro were friendships she made with her colleagues, seeing the diversity of students in the classroom, and getting to work with students every day.

As one of Ms.Krause’s former students, I can honestly say she was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, and I can truly see how much she cared for every one of her students and wanted us all to succeed. She would always try her best to make the best out of every day and have a positive attitude despite whatever may have been going on. She was always an active member of the community and was never afraid to speak her mind and use her voice for the better. Although her class was difficult, I miss being able to see her every day and wish she would’ve stayed another year. I truly hope she’s enjoying retirement and spends time doing what makes her happy. She was an extremely hard worker and she deserves to finally be able to spend time for herself.