As I sat in a chair, far too small for a 25 year old, I surveyed the fourth grade classroom lined with M&M memorabilia. There must have been hundreds.

Though Teresa Schrant admits to starting the collection innocently years ago, she never could have imagined the lengths to which it would grow. Each figure encased in her classroom at Holy Family Elementary can’t help but tell the tale of a woman who has meant so much to students, colleagues and families in the Hays Community.

As she sat in a chair, fit perfectly for a woman of such stature, tears would fall as she shared that 43 years would come to a close, this past week marking her final moments as a fourth grade teacher.

Her calling as a teacher did not come immediately to her. Like so many other students beginning their journey through college, she kept her options open. It was until she began taking education courses that she felt the nagging essence of schoolwork become more meaningful. She had always been fond of children, growing up as a nanny leading youngsters just came naturally.

By the end of her time at Fort Hays State University, Teresa Schrant would become known more commonly as Mrs. Schrant to her second grade students at St. Joseph School.

“I went in and interviewed with Sister Mary Alice Walters and she hired me on the spot. I think she was very glad to get a teacher,” Schrant said. At that same time, co-teacher Chris Dinkel was hired, the two sharing a career together until 2023 when he retired. “This is the first year I got to be senior teacher. One year, I got to be senior teacher because I had to wait for Chris.”

At that time, her husband Larry encouraged her to look into a different school district for a potential pay raise. He should have known that for Mrs. Schrant, that was never a bargaining factor.

“After you do something for so long, it becomes more than just a job. There’s that sense of loyalty. I loved what I did there,” Schrant said. So much so that she remained a second grade teacher at St. Joseph for 10 years. It wasn’t until she saw a district in need of help that she decided she would make the transition from second to fourth grade in an opening at Holy Family Elementary School. Loyal to her core, she remained there for 33 years.

“I liked the sense of humor that fourth graders have,” she said. For years, she would push a 7-4 work day to 4:15. 4:15 quickly turned to 4:30. 4:30 quickly turned to 8. The love for her job was unwavering, because to her it was never a job. Her position was a privilege, her career a vocation.

Schrant kept busy throughout her career, not only teaching her fourth grade class, but heading up various projects that have become staples for Holy Family.

Mary’s Baby Shower began as a small fundraiser for BirthRight, since transitioned to a donation for Catholic charities. Students bring in diapers, baby supplies and gifts and celebrate with snacks and drinks. What began as an idea sparked by a Charlie Brown Encyclopedia came to fruition as the Holy Family Pancake Race, each year’s winner gifted an engraved spatula from Schrant. Students make pancakes, then race across the school yard with their pancakes in pans, even comparing times with other schools throughout Western Kansas. She even went as far as including her student’s furry friends, initiating an annual pet blessing.

Safe to say, her students loved all of the entertainment that Schrant provided. One year, students even turned up outside of school hours in a last minute event Schrant put together.

“Around Christmas time, we watch Christmas movies, have treats and the kids get their stockings. That particular day, school was canceled for a snow day and as it happens, the weather didn’t materialize. The kids were off for break, and all I could think was that they’d have to wait until January for their stockings. I thought, what would happen if I invited them out for the evening?”

Every single student came for an evening movie at Holy Family. Stockings, treats and movies are all enticing, but for students to show up to school outside of regular hours, that says a lot about the impact of Mrs. Schrant.

In her time at Holy Family, she shared she has drawn inspiration from former teachers of hers Mrs. Donna Cooper and Mrs. Frances Billings. Her success as a teacher, she attributes to the support of her parents, family, husband, colleague and of course, her students.

Reflecting on all she’s done, she believes the most necessary trait in teaching is passion.

“I think the most important thing is to have fun. My husband said a couple of years ago, ‘You know what I’ve noticed about you Teresa? You always say you’re going to school. You never say you’re going to work,’ which is true. I never viewed it as work.”

Throughout the last few years, Schrant believes her teaching improved as her faith grew. She shared some of her greatest joys as a teacher have been watching her students come together and pray for one another.

“I work with the best. The people here are awesome, thoughtful, kind. So many teachers have given me inspiration. The people who have come and gone, those that have retired. There are so many people that have given so much to this school. The kids are here because their parents want them here.”

And time after time, the students have shown that they, too, want to be there. Perhaps that is what has made saying goodbye so hard for Mrs. Schrant. The environment she and so many others have created at Holy Family is truly special, taking years to cultivate. Though she may be wiping her name from the chalkboard outside her classroom, there will always be a place for Mrs. Schrant, as there will always be a student to recall the impact she left on their lives.

As for Larry, he’s ready to gain some of the attention that Schrant has dedicated to her students for so many years.

“He’s ready for me to be home and I’m ready to have some evening’s where I’m not grading papers. It’ll be good, that’ll be good,” Schrant seemed to assure herself. “But I can’t just step away after 43 years cold turkey, that’s not going to work for me.” Her passion endures even through retirement, sharing that she has already made plans to return as an Altar Server twice a week. She added that it’s possible she would return as a substitute to teach other grades, but only to remind her why she loved the fourth grade so much.

I hope Larry doesn’t mind sharing her just a little longer.

Mrs. Teresa Schrant checked out of Holy Family Elementary officially at 8:45 on Friday morning, having already bid her final class farewell.

“I read my students the letter I sent home to their parents,” Schrant said. “I told them I saved the best for last. This is one of the first years I didn’t cry on the last day, because the kids were happy.”