Room four at Alta Vista Elementary school is a special place on the school’s campus. Even from the outside you can tell something magical is happening behind the doors of the colorful corner classroom.
Inside, Steve Riley, 61, is surrounded by smiling children as he sings and the children watch his hand movements and repeat a phrase written on an easel.
“Icky, sticky, icky, sticky bubblegum makes my hands stick to my…” Riley pauses and holds out his…
“HAND!” the kids shout together. Riley’s face breaks into a gigantic grin as the children celebrate their success.
In a corner by the door Christina (Christi) Hann, 62, sits quietly bent over her desk writing and smiling. Every so often the kids giggle and she looks up for a second to watch Riley work.
“Their classroom is my happy place,” Susan Wildes, the Alta Vista Elementary school principal, said. “If I have meetings all day or I have a lot of things I don’t like to do, I will go hang out in their room. It just makes me happy being there.”
The six children Riley is teaching sit on small chairs. Some bounce around, others cannot wait to be called on and chime-in with abandon. Riley smiles and continues his lesson for the day.
Riley and Hann team teach the only kindergarten “Special Day Class” in the district, a special curriculum designed to meet the needs of children with a variety of different challenges.
Their colorful classroom encourages the children to succeed, no matter their learning level. “I feel if the learning environment is safe, the kids feel the difference and they will succeed,” said Riley.
Early in his career as an educator, Riley, a fourth-generation Californian, knew he wanted to work with kids with special needs.
“I worked in general education for one year,” said Riley. “But after that I knew I needed to be back with my people.”
In 1990 he was looking for a change and received a flyer in the mail for teaching openings in the district, something he has never seen done again, and was hired at Alta Vista Elementary School. “It was just a perfect fit,” he said.
Hann, an Indiana native and Indiana University graduate, taught special education in Torrance and in the L.A. Unified School District. She lived a mile from Alta Vista and often subbed for the school. In 1993 she was hired, and has loved working in the district ever since.
They have been a tight team for 20 years.
“It’s almost a marriage in some respects,” Riley said. “We spend the majority of our day together, and we know when to stand in to help and visa versa. I need her desperately; we’re only able to make this work together.”
The mornings are the pair’s quiet time, a time to drink coffee, plan their lessons and talk. Recently they both came to the decision that it was time to retire.
Even after they retire this summer, the pair still plans on getting coffee together at least twice a week to catch up on each other’s lives.
“I thought Steve would be working longer,” said Hann. “But we were taking about it and we both decided one more year… I just didn’t want to leave him with a new partner for his last year.”
“I like to pretend its not going to happen,” said Wildes. “They are two of the most unbelievable teachers. They work together in a way that you almost try to figure ways to get your own children in their class.”
After retirement, Hann is planning on adopting a Standard Poodle puppy to keep her busy, and also plans on delving deeper into her family tree. Riley is planning on taking computer and digital photography classes, traveling the world and volunteering at a hospital to help children in need.
“I don’t like it, but I think they’re due,” said Robbyn Clites a paraprofessional who has worked with the pair for eight years. “It’s going to be sad…I’ve really learned by watching how they teach. The kids really connect with them.”
Both agreed that they wanted to retire when they both still love what they do. However, early in the year they both decided that it was time. “You just know,” said Hann.
“It’s going to be a big life change for both of us,” said Riley. “I get filled up everyday; I’m going to have to fill my life up with something different now.”
Both agree that in 20 years of teaching they have never had a boring day.
“Every child has different challenges,” said Hann. “And everyday is something different.”
Neither one can imagine having his or her own classroom.
“When I had my own classroom I felt isolated,” said Riley. “Working together has worked so well. I know her kids, she knows mine. It’s nice to have a strong cheerleader in my corner.”
The two both find it fulfilling to see children they taught grow up.
“One of the best things is when we see an old student and we can see the impact we had on them and we can see the progress they have had through life,” said Riley. “Our goal is to instill lifelong learning in them. We work a lot with positive reinforcement and try to “catch the kid being good.’”
Wildes said that they probably teach the parents just as much as they teach the kids.
“They teach them how to be better parents and how to adapt to their special needs,” said Wildes. “They are really good at what they do and are probably single-handedly the reason a large percent of children go on to not need an IEP (individualized education plan) in the years to come. They are so good at getting the kids mainstreamed and teaching them the skills they need to be successful.”
Wildes has personally sat in on meetings when the children who went through their classroom were dismissed from special education classes.
As the principal, Wildes often walks around the campus to see how the teachers and students are doing. One day while watching the kids play during recess, she watched Riley strategically and effortlessly help one of his students join a group of kids on the playground.
“He’s like a ghost the way he can go in and help kids in a social situation,” said Wildes. She watched him pull the child aside without the other kids noticing. “He sets them on the right path the way he immediately goes out of the situation is just masterful in a way that the rest of the typical kindergarteners wouldn’t have noticed that that’s a kiddo that needs help from another adult.”
Neither one can imagine finishing a career any differently. Even after retirement they want to keep their team together.
“It has been an amazing experience,” said Riley. “I’m fortunate to have experienced this with Christi. Where else can you look back on your career and know that you loved going to work every single day? It’s been 20 years of a positive ride.” ER
