After two years of retirement, Jan Kelly Willis has come back to teach at Oak Park High School. While she enjoyed her time away, Willis is excited to return and ready to nourish freshmen minds with her insightful English skills.
Before her retirement, Willis had taught Oak Park students for around 25 years. She started at Medea Creek Middle School, teaching 8th grade English before moving to OPHS.
After retirement, Willis had a lot of time on her hands and, since she loves to travel, she utilized some of her time off to live abroad.
“The first year we were in Germany. My husband teaches at Pepperdine, and we were living in Heidelberg with 50 college sophomores. It was fun but it went by so fast,” Willis said.
Despite being across the globe, Willis kept up with what was happening at OPHS. She made an effort to continue reading the Talon articles, regardless of the distance between her and the publication site. The newspaper allowed Willis to stay connected with her old school, colleagues, and students.
Additionally, Willis filled the time off with substitute teaching at MCMS and OPHS up until it was realized that the incoming freshmen class at the high school would have about 150 more students than usual. Knowing the freshmen English teachers would have six periods of full classes, Willis was asked to return to continue teaching freshman English classes.
Regarding the new school year, Willis is thrilled to return as a freshman English teacher. She is navigating through the AI uprising–which occurred during her absence–and is slowly understanding how it is used and what to look out for.
“I don’t understand much of it at all,” Willis said. “But my students have mainly been using paper and pencil this year. The lack of technology in my class has helped, but it’s something that I need to learn and figure out.”
Willis loves the teaching environment where she can watch her students grow. She wants to see them improve as individuals and aid the quiet students in finding their voices in class.
“I’m most excited to see my students participate, listen and truly engage with the literature. I can’t wait to witness how they develop as writers,” Willis said.
