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After 40 years of working for the district, Elise Hanson is finishing her final year before retirement. Working 22 years as an elementary school counselor, four years as a high school counselor, one year as an intern middle school counselor and five years as a sixth grade teacher, Hanson said it will be difficult to say goodbye.
“I’ll miss the kids, I love collaborating with other school counselors and so I’ll miss that,” Hanson said. “Having worked at so many schools in the district I’ve gotten to know a lot of different teachers, and TA’s, and principals, just a lot of employees that work for North Sanpete and that’s been wonderful to be able to associate with them.”
The last couple years of Hanson’s career, she has found a passion for counseling younger students while working as Fountain Green and Spring City elementary school counselor.
“At the elementary, they treat you like a rockstar, they’re so excited to see you,” Hanson said. “ It’s been a wonderful journey, it really has.”
Teaching life lessons that people can carry with them has been an important aspect in Hanson’s teaching style. Meeting once a week with each grade, she has tried to incorporate objects into her lessons for a hands-on experience. One lesson focusing on “thinking outside the box” involved finding many different uses for common objects. She invited students to share, create, and learn from their peers as they got to see each other’s ideas.
Hanson not only focuses on the groups, but more importantly the individuals in the group. By adding a QR code to the students iPads, kids are allowed to send her a digital message asking for help. This new addition has aided Hanson to single out those specifically asking for extra help. It has made reaching out easier and convenient for the students.
“She’s very kind, she really really wants to help these kids,” Fountain Green elementary school Principal Robyn Cox said. “She wants them to be successful, she wants them to feel good, she wants them to be happy and confident and be able to move on and help them through anything.”
The lessons Hanson teaches relate to a variety of subjects. College and career readiness, mindfulness, and social skills are a few of many ways she prepares the students for the future.
“Simon’s Hook,” is one of Hanson’s favorites to teach. The story tells of a fish who chooses not to bite the hook of the fisherman’s pole, the story relates back to helping children choose not to react to being teased. Essentially “swimming free” from the bullies you are facing.
“It’s empowering to know if somebody teases me, ‘This is what I do,’ and if that doesn’t work and it turns into bullying, then go and report,” Hanson said.
By being a counselor, Hanson has had the opportunity to see the changes her lessons make for others, along with how it has changed her personal life. She has found that the lessons can apply to all ages.
“Being a school counselor has put me in a position where I learn a lot about wellness,” Hanson said. “ I think the best way to learn something is to teach it, so it’s helped me to learn about wellness and taking care of myself.”
Hanson’s efforts throughout the years will be greatly missed and remembered by the countless students she has taught.
“Her legacy is going to be generations, 40 years of teaching is going to be thousands of students that are more mindful,” Cox said. “ They have skills that enable them to go out and become better people or be better people, teamwork building, things like that that they would never have without her.”
