Longtime school official Hope Meyerhoeffer to retire
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 27, 2015 3:05 AM
Full Size
Hope Meyerhoeffer
When Hope Meyerhoeffer retires from Wayne County Public Schools in a few months, she will officially have amassed 50 years working in education.
She recently submitted her official papers with the state Department of Public Instruction, with a target date of March 1 for her departure.
"I'll have 50 years and some tenths," she said.
Now a director specialist, her roles over the years have included elementary education, English as a Second Language, visual arts, English/language arts and Effective Schools.
She began her career in Wayne County in 1977, being moved to the central office in 1986.
But her introduction into the profession came after graduating from Guilford College in 1965, beginning with a stint in High Point teaching fifth grade.
"I didn't know exactly what level I wanted to teach, so I experimented with that in High Point and then I got offered a job at Jamestown Junior High to be an English/language arts, which is my love," she said. "That's where I met my husband, Ed, a teacher."
The couple moved to Richmond, Virginia, where they lived until her father's health and subsequent death prompted her to move back to Goldsboro.
"I started with Goldsboro City Schools, teaching fourth grade at North Drive," she said.
She also taught at Goldsboro High School and what was then Goldsboro Junior High. From there, she went to the work at Goldsboro City Schools as its coordinator for the English/language arts program, where she remained until the merger of the city and county schools into one district.
"I became a director at central office," she recalls. "I was given ELA (English/language arts), second language at that time and then a little bit late the state decided to implement the ESL program so I'm the one who laid the foundation for ESL.
"At that time I also received visual arts, that was to supervise, and I had all those areas until this year."
She was recently moved to Carver Heights Elementary, where she works with teachers in kindergarten, first and second grades.
"I'm helping them with their reading instructional, the formula that you need to use to teach reading and all the development of the five literacy centers," she said, explaining the latter as something each classroom will have. "In January and February, I will try to get everything done I was going to, basically. Then I'm sure whoever fills in my position will probably come over here and finish up."
Reflecting on the journey, she said she has never grown tired of working in her chosen career field.
"I love education and I love instructing, whether it's with teachers or students, it doesn't matter," she said. "I enjoy instructing those that need information. I enjoy that I have worked with teachers for so many years and for staff development with them.
"I will miss that because I love doing that."
What she will miss most, though, she says, are all those she has met and worked with along the way. Since her official retirement is months away, she said she hasn't given much thought to what the future holds. But some of her time will likely be devoted to her church, First Baptist of Goldsboro, where she is already involved with two choirs as well as the III Century Singers.
"I would like to do a little traveling," she said. "It's been awhile since I have done any traveling.
"I'm just not sure of all of the things I will get involved in because I'm not a sit at home person. At first I wasn't sure (about retiring) but then I said, 'Uh-huh, I'm looking forward to it.'"