Have you ever heard of a teacher working for the same school for forty-one years, retire for two and return to teaching at the same school? Well, that is exactly what Sue Morrison has done at Avalon Elementary. She is now going on her forty-third year of teaching at Avalon ISD.

When asked if she always wanted to be a teacher Sue Morrison replied, “When I started going to college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was just going to college to go to college. Then I started looking into the teaching curriculum and lucky for me I just fell into teaching. It is the best thing I have ever done and I never have wanted to do anything else.”

Avalon Elementary is the first and the only school Morrison has ever taught at. Over the years she has taught first, second, third and fifth grade. She was called out of retirement by Mrs. Day (former Avalon Elementary principal) to teach a new pre-K program for three year olds. Morrison said, “Every year of teaching brought challenges with it but teaching three year olds is the biggest challenge ever. But I love it, I would not trade it for a million dollars. When we first started we had seven students and it was only for half a day. Since then we have had as many as twenty-one students and we go for the whole day.”

She went on to say, “This is the only school in Ellis County that has a pre-K program for three years olds. We teach social skills, we use DL (developmental learning) materials that are child centered and focus on programs that teach self esteem such as ‘Amazing Me’ which emphasizes good behavior in the students.”

When asked what she liked best about teaching the three year olds, Sue replied, “Experiencing everything new the students are learning through their eyes, their amazement at anything new, their excitement in learning, seeing them interactive with the other students and making friends. Teaching these students has become my passion.”

She also said, “There isn’t a better school than Avalon, there is not another school I would want to teach at. The faculty and staff are one big family and when the going gets tough everyone is always there for you.”

When asked his opinion of Mrs. Morrison Dr. DelBosque (Avalon ISD superintendent) responded, “Mrs. Morrison is an icon in the landscape of Avalon education. Not only is hers a great story about her incredible personal journey as a teacher all these years, it is also a story of an incredible career journey that has seen generations of families pass through her classrooms. We are fortunate to have her dedication and experience now with our youngest students as they begin their journey of learning. She is truly one that instills a love of learning and exploration for these little ones who enter her door every day. Not only has Mrs. Morrison had an incredible career, she has been a most incredible teacher and mentor to many.”