Ever since she was 8-years-old, Ella Mae Schultz knew she wanted to become a teacher.
She would play school with her younger sister, she being the teacher of course, all the time.
But when her elementary school teacher, Ms. Jones, came into her life, she really believed teaching was her calling.
‘She made you so comfortable and happy to be in school,? Schultz said. ‘That’s what I have tried to do with my children.?
Schultz, who has taught the second, fourth and sixth grades at Daniel Axford Elementary for the past 20 years, is retiring from her calling at the end of this school year.
‘Everybody keeps asking me if I’m sad,? she said. ‘I’m not sad, I’m happy for all the years of children’s lives that I’ve touched and I’m grateful I had the chance to be a teacher.?
Growing up on a farm, Schultz said she was lucky enough to have the financial support of her parents to make her way through classes at Central Michigan University.
‘I got the support from my parents by my dad sending a wheat check to my college,? she said.
She graduated with her degree in education in 1962.
The Lake Orion resident began her 30?- year elementary teaching career in the South Redford, Port Huron and Wayne Westland school districts.
She decided to take a break from teaching in 1970 to raise her two children, who are now in their 30s, and then in 1980 she began substitute teaching in Oxford, Lake Orion, Pontiac and at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
In 1986, Schultz began her 20-year career at Daniel Axford and said she had to make major adjustments to the way technology was used after her 10-year absence.
‘Everything before was textbook-based and now we have a lot of integration of all the other subjects within one subject area,? she said. ‘It was a big change, but I have adjusted.?
Schultz prides herself on the manner in which she runs her classroom.
She runs a tight ship, making sure the environment is calm, organized and happy, and makes sure every child gets equal attention. She always tells her students ‘I’ve got teacher love for you.?
Schultz even gets her second graders involved with the community.
Every Halloween, Christmas and Memorial Day holiday for the past 11 years she has brought her class to the Senior Hope Apartments on W. Drahner to perform concerts for the senior citizens.
Schultz decided this was the year to retire because she wants to spend more time with her four-month-old grandson, work on her family’s genealogy and travel with her husband of 39 years, Clifford.
‘I never thought I would get this far,? she said. ‘It goes by so fast.?
Although she’s retiring, Schultz isn’t ready to cut the proverbial umbilical cord from her ‘family? at Daniel Axford.
She plans on substitute teaching so she can stay connected with the staff and students.
‘I don’t want to get bored at home,? she said laughing.
Lydia Lopez Engel, principal at Daniel Axford, has known Schultz for the 12 years she’s been principal.
‘She’s been a joy to work with and I will definitely miss her,? she said.
Schultz said she will miss the students and their families of the students the most when she’s gone, but that she’s got wonderful memories of all her past students, like U.S. Army Pvt. Robert Price, a former student of Schultz who often visited her classroom.
With her many years of experience, Schultz said it’s important for up-and-coming teachers to make the classroom warm, loving and secure. Making sure you are a personable figure they can be at ease talking to.
‘You are there to listen to whatever they have to say,? she said. ‘For whatever little problems they may have.?