Posted: 10/4/05
Former teacher wins state award
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Shirley Schroeder hasnít taught school for 12 years now, but that doesnít stop her from working with kids and fellow retired teachers.
Schroeder, 71, taught elementary school in Caledonia for 33 years, all but seven of those at the kindergarten level.
Since retiring in 1993, she has been very active in the community, and in three retired teacher associations.
Two of those groups gave her their top awards this year. First, the South East Retired Educators Association of Minnesota (SEREAM) presented her with its 2005 Educator Award on April 27 in Rochester.
That made Schroeder eligible for the top award from the statewide group, Retired Educators Association of Minnesota (REAM), for outstanding community service and leadership.
She was presented with the 2005 Educator Award on September 18 in Moorhead, Minnesota. Her husband, Curt, and three of her four children attended: sons Todd and Craig, and daughter, Patti Hetrick, as well as daughter-in-law Jean Schroeder. Shirleyís daughter Kari Broghamer could not attend because she was busy with her teaching duties in Iowa City.
Schroeder talked about the awards and her community involvement on September 30 while sitting in the living room of her rural Caledonia house. She conveyed a warm and caring personality that made her a successful teacher and no doubt helped in her recent achievements.
Schroeder works as a Guardian ad Litem in Houston County. She is appointed by a judge to be an advocate in Child Held in Protective Services (CHiPS) cases. Schroederís job is to go to court and advocate for children who are being held in protective service. ìYouíre kind of the eyes and ears for the judge,î she said. She provides an oral report and sometimes a written one at court hearings.
The Guardian ad Litem makes recommendations to the judge and the judge makes his ruling, which is based on what he considers to be in the best interest of the child, Schroeder said.
It can be a frustrating job, she said, because she sometimes has to come down on parents.
Schroeder has four grandchildren who were in foster care that her daughter, Patti, later adopted.
Schroeder has done a variety of community work that also reflects her concern for children. She did puppet presentations for Semcac that taught children skills for having a healthy self image. She participated in the Caledonia libraryís summer reading program. She has given talks about farming, and has volunteered in the classrooms of her grandchildren at story time.
Schroeder thinks it is important that SEREAM does youth-centered projects too. For example, they have established a summer camp for children whose parents are incarcerated.
These kinds of projects intermix with the social aspect to make the group meaningful to Schroeder. ìYou make a lot of lasting friendships with the people involved,î she said.
Schroeder is a long-time member of Caledonia Study Club, a group of people who read and discuss books on a regular basis.
Her family had three foreign exchange students too, and they still keep in touch with them.
Her husband, Curt, still farms part-time on their farm a mile south of Caledonia on Ewald Road.
Caledonia Argus
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