After 16 years in education, State High special education teacher Janet Lenze is retiring, leaving behind a strong legacy of dedication, patience, and care for students.
Lenze teaches tenth-grade learning support, working with students who have IEPs for needs such as reading disabilities, math disabilities, ADHD, or autism. Her interest in special education began early in her life. “I think partly my mom taught special ed, and one of my sisters had a reading disability, and she was ten years younger than me, so I helped her a lot with reading,” Lenze said.
In her role, Lenze supports students both inside general education classrooms and in the Learning Support Room. She helps students complete assignments, study for tests, work toward IEP goals, and build confidence in their learning.
For Lenze, the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing students gain understanding. “I think the most rewarding part would be when a student kind of gets it,” Lenze said. “Like, you’re working on a math problem, and then they figure it out, and then they’re able to do it themselves.”
Lenze said her students have also inspired her personally. “Some of our students have hard, hard lives, hard to live,” Lenze said. “Just in light of what they deal with outside of school, they continue to show up and, you know, get things done and move on.”
Her colleagues also recognize the impact she’s had on State High. Carolyn Fries is a tenth-grade learning support teacher who has worked closely with Lenz for 17 years.
Fries described their partnership as supportive and collaborative. “We work as a team, which just makes it hard that she’s retiring because we bounce questions off each other. We fill in for each other, and so it’s been great.” Fries said.
Fries described Lenze as someone who made a lasting impression on both students and staff. “She’s just an all-around great person.” Fries said, “She’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and she has a great sense of humor. She’s great with the kids, and I’m really gonna miss her.”
Although Fries is sad to see Lenze leave, she is happy for her next chapter in life. “Oh, it makes me very sad, but I’m very happy for her because she’s gonna have time now to spend with her grandbabies,” Fries said. “I’m really gonna miss her. She’s gonna have a hard time filling her place.”
As Lenze prepares for retirement, she looks forward to spending more time with family, including her five grandchildren. Still, she says she will miss the relationships she built at State High.
“I think I definitely will miss my colleagues,” Lenze said. “You build pretty tight relationships with not only special ed teachers and other special ed teachers, but the bio teachers that I’ve worked with over the years are awesome.”
Lenze has also had major impacts on students at State High, whether she is giving students more room on assignments, helping them individually, or simply being someone they can talk to. Many students praise her willingness to help. Sophomore Gage Kurtz described her as “very easygoing, and she has a movement room on assignments. And, like, if I do need help, she always helps.”
Regardless of what a student needs, Lenze makes time to support them. “She’s helped me academically, overall helping with my assignments. And she’s helped me move forward and helped me study for tests beforehand.” Kurtz said. “Personally, she’s helped me build a relationship because we always talk about football season and stuff like that. So she’s always talkative.”
Other students also noticed the personal connections Lenze builds. Dante Peterson, a sophomore at State High who knows Lenze from science class, said, “She’s really nice, and she gets to know you on a personal level really well. And she’s always making jokes with everyone.”
Peterson said what makes her different from other teachers is that “he kinda really gets to know you, and it’s more like a personal connection.”
With most of the students she works with not knowing that she is retiring, the news was surprising. Kurtz said, “I think that’s somewhat upsetting because I always enjoy getting to see her, and I enjoy having the opportunity to have her as a teacher.” Still, he said he was happy for her because “now she gets to be with her grandchildren, and she gets to do what she enjoys more.” Peterson shared a similar reaction, saying, “I’m kinda happy for her because she deserves it.”
For future special education teachers, Lenze’s advice is to stay open to learning, saying, “It’s okay to not know what to do.” She also talks about the importance of “Being willing, being willing to be a student yourself and being a learner.”
Through her work with students and collaboration with colleagues, Lenze has made a meaningful contribution to State High. As she retires, she leaves behind a legacy of kindness, teamwork, and commitment to helping students succeed.
