Retiring after 39 years of changing young lives

At the end of this school year, the eight longest serving educators in the Havre School District will retire with a cumulative 235 years experience. The Havre Daily News will be talking to the retiring educators in the coming weeks.

Debbie Kirby, founder and teacher behind Havre's Students United for New Succes alternative program, will be leaving the Havre school system after 20 straight years, which were preceded by an additional 19 years of classroom experience.

Kirby became a teacher in Culbertson after graduating from Havre High School and Northern Montana College.

After teaching at Great Falls High School, Kirby returned to Havre in 1981 to teach at Havre Junior High School for a year.

She spent most of the 1980s working at Northern until she was chosen in 1991 to head the development of the then new alternative program, SUNS.

Looking back on her career, Kirby said she is most proud of "when I see graduates of the SUNS program doing productive things with their lives.

"One of my early graduates is a nurse at the care center. Her daughter graduates from high school this year, if not with straight A's, pretty close, " Kirby said. "It makes me feel like the program can give students stability in their lives when they might need it.

"That is the point, helping them through the tough times, helping them learn how to learn, helping them recognize what they can accomplish. "

And it is those students who she said she will miss most after this year.

She will also miss, and wants to thank, the administrative staff in the Robins School Administration building building, where SUNS was held for its first 19 years, until the program moved to Havre High School last year.

"All the people who work in that building made our students feel like they are at home, " Kirby said.

The administrators will miss her too.

"If you look at the number of students that Debbie's personally impacted, and if you talked to her students, she's one of the main contributing factors in their finishing high school, " Havre Public Schools Superintendent Andy Carlson said. "It takes a special person to work in an alternative program. But it also takes someone who is willing to take risks.

"I have a lot of admiration for what she's been able to accomplish... it's difficult to think about replacing an individual like that. "

After 39 years in education, Kirby is looking forward to enjoying some free time to travel or pick up golf from one of the school district's community education courses.

"I want to see what else is out there because the majority of those 39 years have been in a classroom, " Kirby said. "I kid with my seniors saying that I get to graduate this year too.

"I'm just looking forward to having a schedule that I can set and being able to go see my family, in state and out of state, to be able to take in my granddaughter's first-grade program without having to worry about finding a substitute. "