I want to let all of you know that longtime faculty members Sally (Dahlstrom) Rudert and Elaine (Hackett) Smith have shared their plans to retire at the end of the school year. We will certainly miss them. While it is always sad to see our colleagues go, especially those who have dedicated so much of their lives to this wonderful place, Sally and Elaine have expressed that they are anticipating the next phase of their lives with great enthusiasm.
Sally graduated from Thornwood School for Girls in 1966, and – after college – taught math for one year at East Rome High School before she started teaching at Thornwood in 1970. When Thornwood merged with Darlington in 1973, Sally “came over with the girls,” as she tells her students. During her 40-year tenure here, she has taught Geometry every year and taken on additional duties as department chairperson, associate academic dean, academic dean, assistant director of Upper School, and finally – director of Upper School studies/Registrar, the position she holds currently. Though she has taught all areas of math from sixth-grade to pre-calculus, Sally says Geometry has always been her favorite.
Sally says she has loved working with her students and has found great satisfaction in teaching and building relationships. “It has been a great ride,” she said, “and I know that I will miss the people here and being a part of everything. But having a little flexibility to do a few new things and focus on my hobbies will be fun, too.” Sally and her husband, Bob, plan to stay in Rome. She looks forward to traveling more, pursuing her hobbies of needlework and gardening, and taking classes to enhance her skill as a quilter.
A 1971 Thornwood graduate, Elaine’s love for this school runs deep. A second-generation alumna, she married Wright Smith (’70), another second-generation alum and a descendent of Darlington founders John Paul and Alice Allgood Cooper. After earning her B.S.Ed. and M.Ed. from the University of Georgia in the mid-70s, Elaine began her teaching career.
She had five-and-a-half years of previous experience at other schools in the state when she was hired to teach second grade at Darlington in 1980. For the next 29 years, she taught second grade, until the current school year when she moved to third. Elaine and Wright are also the parents of Darlington alumni Ben (’98) and Drew (’03).
“I’ll really miss the children and what they say and do, and I’ll miss having lunch with ‘the girls,’” she said. “But this is a good year for me to retire. I’ve had a wonderful class, and the parents have been really great. I taught half of these students in second grade, so it’s been so much fun deepening those relationships. Neither of us had experience in the third grade, so I like to say we moved up together. We’ve really learned a lot from each other.”
Elaine added that she and her husband will remain in town and that she plans to take it easy next year and see what comes up for her. “I am really just going to try and enjoy the seasons of the year and the freedom to come and go instead of having a daily routine,” she said. “I’m sure I will feel very exhilarated when first week of school comes around in August, but I’m also going to be a little sad. I think I might plan a trip that weekend!”
Please join me in wishing Sally and Elaine all the best in this exciting, new chapter of their lives.
Tom
