By Wendi Reardon
Leader Staff Writer
Every morning Daniel Axford Elementary Principal Lydia Engel begins the day visiting every classroom and says hi to all of the students and teachers.
She will make her last walk when the kids finish the school year on June 11 and will begin her retirement June 19. She will be replaced by Leonard Principal Joyce Brasington, who will start in the fall.
Engel was going to retire last year, but decided to stay on for one more year.
‘It’s absolutely bittersweet because I still love what I do,? she said. ‘I love coming to work. I love the kids. Who wouldn’t love coming into work every day and getting a hug and a smile from a child every single day. I have the best staff, I think, in the world.?
Engel said it was time after working in education for 32 years and her husband retired two years ago.’It is time to start the next part of our lives,? she explained.
Over the years she has seen the school go through changes, including its transformation from a kindergarten through fourth-grade building to a K-2 facility.
She has been involved with quite a few programs in the school and is proud of the concentration they have put on literacy.
‘We know the K-2 level is the foundation for reading,? she continued. ‘We have the biggest responsibility to teach them to read and use those thinking skills to be successful as they move on.?
She was also involved with starting the Spanish program at the kindergarten level and phasing the language in one grade level at a time.
Budget cuts put a halt on the program but she is excited after the wait to see it coming back to the elementary schools.
She has also had a hand in social studies and language arts in the district.
Engel has seen the students come in as five-year-olds and grow with the school and community.
‘It is so much fun to watch them grow up and see them graduate. That has been the payoff for us,? she exclaimed.
Engel has formed friendships not only within her school but with her colleagues in the district.
‘We support each other and we really have no competition between the buildings,? she said. ‘What is good for one, is good for all.?
Another strong bond is with Oxford Elementary School principal Debbie Stout, also retiring this year.
‘I love working with Debbie,? she said. ‘We have worked well together and I am glad she is leaving with me. We pinky swore we would retire at the same time, but we never thought we would.?
Engel has been principal at DA for 15 years and came to Oxford after a chance meeting with Marion Ginopolis, when she was Oxford’s superintendent.
The two met at an airport in Chicago, Ill. after a conference and began talking. When asked by Ginopolis what she did, she said she taught at Detroit Public schools as a bilingual teacher.
Then, she admitted a dream of hers was to be a principal in a small community.
Ginopolis had three openings so she asked for Engel’s information and sent information to her.
‘I didn’t even know where Oxford was,? she admitted. ‘I came up for the interview and didn’t see her again until the final interview.?
Engel was hired on August 1, 1994 and moved her family to Oxford.
‘It was just great to live in the community where I worked,? she said. ‘It has been the best experience. You get to know families and the children.?
She will start her retirement by spending the summer up north.
Then, she will spend the winter months in Florida, where she and her husband have friends.
After that she doesn’t know what she will do, but has an open mind to whatever comes her way.
‘It’s a very special place and I will miss it tremendously. I really, really will,? she said.
‘But I am happy I am leaving on a good note. I feel good about my accomplishments and what we have done. We are a great school with a great community.?