By Satina Tolman
For The New Era
After 26 years of shaping young minds at Oak Heights Elementary, Cindy Davis is closing her classroom door one final time.
Davis has taught second, third and fourth grades at the school since 1998, dedicating her entire Sweet Home teaching career to the same campus. Her journey in education, however, began much earlier. She was an early childhood educator in California for 15 years, followed by a year with Head Start in Crawfordsville while gaining Oregon residency to attend Oregon State University.
“When you get to be my age, it’s natural to look back and see whether you did do something positive for the world, and I think I can say yes,” Davis said. “And that matters to me. That matters a lot.”
Davis has always been sure of her path.
“I just could never see myself doing anything else,” she said. “I’ve never held a single job that wasn’t working with kids.”
But now, a combination of health concerns and a desire to spend more time with her three grandchildren is pulling her in a new direction. A single adoptive mother of a sibling group of three, Davis has two children living locally and one in Montana.
Retirement means more time for travel and family, and a long-awaited Alaska cruise to see a glacier.
Davis said the most fulfilling part of teaching has always been the moments when students surprise themselves.
“When they are struggling and it’s hard but finally they realize that they have figured it out and they can do it. That is fun,” she said. “I actually enjoy the kids who struggle the most because the reward is just so much bigger when they have a bigger battle. So whether the kids are from a family that is struggling or if they have learning disabilities, those kids are the ones who are so rewarding.”
She vividly remembers one student who came into her third-grade class unable to read.
“The child and I worked very hard at our relationship and bonding and by the end of the year he had grown three grade levels in reading,” she said. “He went from being a non-reader to being at grade level.”
“It’s that connection that means so much. I’ve had seven principals and I’ve told them all, ‘I will not get you the highest test scores but you can count on the fact that I will connect with the kids. I’m about relationships. The reason I’m here is relationships, it’s not about scores.’”
“Fortunately, I’ve had very supportive principals.”
Oak Heights Principal Todd Barrett, who has worked with Davis for six years, said she’s had a unique gift for reaching kids who struggle most.
“Cindy just has this big heart,” Barrett said. “It’s amazing how she can take a kid who is really struggling and find the purpose and value for that child. She has always had that knack to build a relationship with the kids that other people cannot always get to.”
Though she’s quick to express her love for the work, Davis doesn’t shy away from discussing the challenges.
“The most challenging part of being a teacher is all of the state and federal rules and politics that appear to have been made by people who do not understand children,” she said.
“Because they have so many dictates now of what we have to do, it eliminates a lot of that ability to bring in project learning and those kinds of things that are so magical for kids,” she said. “You end up spending more time worrying about whether something is relevant for a test, and I hate making decisions based on whether or not it will come up on a state test.”
Over time, she’s also seen a shift in how parents relate to schools and teachers.
“There feels like there has been more of an understanding that teaching is a difficult job. Covid did a little bit of that for us,” she said. “I think the biggest change is, unfortunately, negative, and that is the level of accountability that parents hold for their kids. Kids are allowed to behave differently now than they were allowed to 26 years ago.”
What’s driving that change?
“I think it is complicated, but part of it is the economy where parents work more hours than they really want to, and then they become more lenient with the time that they have because who wants to fight with your kids when you haven’t seen them all day?” Davis speculated.
“It is multi-layered and there are many other factors, and it is frustrating,” she added.
Still, she makes sure to acknowledge the many parents who do partner with educators.
“And it is not all parents by any means, we have a lot of parents who work with us as a team, and I am grateful for them.”
Through every shift and challenge, one thing remained constant: her commitment to her students.
“For these 25 to 28 children who come into my room, for a year, they are mine,” Davis said. “They matter, and I hope they feel that. That is more important to me than if they remember long division.”
As she prepares to step away from the classroom, Davis said it’s the people, her students and colleagues, who will be hardest to leave.
“This has been my family,” she said, her voice emotional.
“In the time I have been here, I have been through some really horrific things, including the death of an infant granddaughter. They (her co-workers) have been by me, have had my back, and I’ve been cared about. This place is a family. And that’s what I am going to miss more than anything else. These are my people.”