BY AMBER J. CRAFT
Special to the Times
After 37 years of guiding little learners through their ABCs and helping them become readers, Elizabeth Vandiver is closing her lesson plan book for the last time and stepping into retirement.
Vandiver has spent the last 21 years at Lake Butler Elementary School.
“I’ve always liked working with children,” Vandiver said simply. “This is what I wanted to do.”
Vandiver began her teaching career in Jacksonville, where she taught for 16 years before making Union County her home. At Lake Butler Elementary School, she taught kindergarten before moving into a specialized role working with exceptional student education students in kindergarten for the last nine years.
Connecting sounds and letters
When asked what it’s been like serving in this ESE role, her response was clear: “Wonderful.”
She said her passion lies in helping students make one of the most critical connections of their academic life—the link between letters and sounds.
“A lot of them have trouble making a connection with the letters and the sounds, so finding ways to help them make that connection, to help them become readers,” she said, describing a challenge she embraced as her mission.
“Getting to see the growth and helping kids understand and make connections and teaching them how to learn,” Vandiver said. That was the joy that kept her coming back day after day.
She believes firmly in the power of early reading education. “No other career would be able to exist if people couldn’t read,” she said. “They must first have a foundation, and if they don’t have that foundation, they’re not going to be able to be readers and not going to be successful in any career. So, I think, get them young and teach them how to read. That’s what I like doing.”
Two-time Teacher of the Year
Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Vandiver was named Teacher of the Year at LBES in 2006 and received her National Board Certification the same year—a designation that certifies a teacher to instruct in any state. She was also once honored as Teacher of the Year during her time in Jacksonville.
“It was a lot of extra work to show you were proficient in your grade level area and that you could teach different subjects,” Vandiver said of the National Board process. “You had to submit all these packets and then take a test.”
Colleagues at LBES describe her as warm, collaborative, and a tireless advocate for children.
“Oh, I love it,” she said of working at the school. “This is a great school. Everybody is very cooperative.”
‘It’s about what’s best for the kids’
Vandiver emphasized the strong sense of community among staff, united by a shared purpose. “Everything is about the good of the student. It’s not about an eight-to-three job, it’s about what’s best for the kids.”
When asked what she’ll miss the most, she doesn’t hesitate.
“Teaching little people to read and their smiling faces,” she said. “They’re always very encouraging and loving, and they make your bad days better. I will miss working with them the most.”
Though she’s retiring, Vandiver isn’t slowing down. She plans to spend time reading—a hobby she loves but hasn’t had much time for recently. “I haven’t gotten to do much of that lately,” she chuckled. She also hopes to squeeze in a cruise with her husband this summer.
“My husband and I love to cruise,” she said with a smile.
Between relaxing and adventuring, Vandiver will dedicate time to another important role: caring for her 91-year-old father. She anticipates that some tutoring may also be in her future—a perfect fit for someone who has made a life out of helping others learn.
Click here for more Union County news
