After 14 years with the district, Marietta Kindergarten teacher Kathy Burk has decided to
call it quits.
Born in Spur, Texas, Burk traveled around a bit before beginning her teaching career in
Albequerque, New Mexico, where she worked with homeless children in a Title 1 project
for five years. She then taught first grade in New Mexico before moving to Nocona,
Texas.
Her first job there was working for the Texas State School for a year teaching special
education. After that year, she was employed in the Nocona Public School system,
teaching headstart for five year and special education for three more years.
In 2011, Burk came to Marietta, where she taught special education for one year before
moving to the kindergarten classroom for the last 13 years.
“For five-and-a-half years, I ran a shelter home for neglected, abused, and runaway
kids,” recalled Burk. “I worked with kids who couldn’t read or count – they didn’t have a
chance. I also had a foster child who had problems learning. I read a book about
teaching and decided I wanted to be a special education teacher.”
Burk earned teaching degrees in both special education and regular education.
“There got to be too much paperwork in special education, so I moved to the regular
education classroom where I just teach them all,” she said.
Burk has spent much of her career teaching children to read.
“If a child can read, they can do anything,” insisted Burk. “To watch a child learn to read
is a gift.”
Burk cited as examples instances from past years in her career. When a former student
in Texas learned to read in Burk’s class, his family came to school to meet with her.
“His family was so excited to tell me that this child was the only person in their family
who could read and they were thrilled he learned so he could help the rest of the family,”
Burk shared.
Another student who came to Burk’s class couldn’t read or write her name. Buy the end
of the year that student was reading on an eighth grade level.
“Her mother became invested, and at the end of the year the mom told me that before
the daughter learned to read, when the kids would come home from school, they would
watch television,” remembered Burk. “After the daughter learned to read, the mom
would work on reading with the older kids, and the daughter would work with the
younger ones. That entire family learned to read that year.”
But now, after investing herself in teaching for many years, Burk is ready to retire and
do some things she wants to do while she still has the health to do them.
“I love teaching, and my career has been great,” she said. “But I’m tired. I had shoulder
surgery last summer and came back to school three weeks out. For four months, I had
physical therapy twice a week, but I’m just tired.”
Burk owns 100 acres and in retirement, wants to clean it up and make her farm more
productive.
“Ms. Burk has been an asset to Marietta schools for 14 years,” said Superintendent
Brandi Naylor. “We will miss her, but we wish her the best in retirement.”