Southwest’s Mrs. Larson retires after 23 years with the district

May 20, 2015
Charlea Mills
After 23 years with Southwest Schools, Laura Larson is retiring and a whole school of former students is telling her goodbye.
Larson started at Southwest after teaching in Jefferson City for four years. She came to the school when then-principal Judy Randall interviewed her and was extremely excited about her experience with children with disabilities. Larson was hired as a preschool teacher because of her experience with children with cerebral palsy, autism, Asperger’s and hearing impairments and other disabilities.
Larson taught preschool for ten years with the district before switching to kindergarten. A lot of her experience in special education helped her to deal with students over the years. She said, “My experience with special needs and the training I received before I came here really enabled me to be more compassionate and be a more empathetic teacher, because I know what its like for those students.”
Larson moved to Southwest to be back closer to her family years ago. She said, “My family was back here and my mother was going to eventually need help in the long run. It was definitely a God thing.” Now, Larson’s mother lives beside her on her and her husband’s property in Washburn. She added, “My calling to teach came directly from God, and there was a reason he wanted me here.”
Part of the reason she feels like she was here was to serve the children and family in the community, regardless of their home life. When she was a preschool teacher, she visited a lot of families in their homes to work with them about the individual needs of the students. Larson said, “I love these kids no matter what their home life was. As a preschool teacher, I’d try to educate parents on how to work with them at home individually. I was never afraid of any place I went because I was there for the kids. It didn’t matter where they lived.”
With two generations of students who have received the foundation of their education from Larson, she can proudly said that she has a former student in every grade up through the graduating class, something that many teachers never experience.
Even though she is retiring, Larson said she still plans to visit the friends she’s made during her years at Southwest. She said, “I’ve told my friends that I’ll come in and make copies for you, but then I’ll wave and say ‘bye.’ I just want to volunteer and then get to go home.”
Now that Larson is moving on from the school, her faith is what is driving a lot of her and her husband, Ed’s, plans for retirement. She said, “God brought me here because my husband recently retired, and we know that God wanted us to be available anywhere he wants us in the missions field.”
The Larsons plan to go to Kentucky later this year to help families in Appalachia by helping with a Vacation Bible School, and Ed will do small construction projects. She also is volunteering with the Royal Kids Camp. Larson said, “We don’t know what God’s got in store for us, but we know he’ll open the door and we’ll be available.
Larson said that she plans to spend a lot of time with her family in her retirement. Larson has one daughter, Misty Leonard and one son, the late Robert. She also has two grandchildren, Robert and Paige. She said, “I’ll really enjoy spending time with my family once I retire, but I’ll also miss all of my friends that I grew to love here.”
Superintendent of Southwest Schools Bob Walker said, “During Laura’s 23 years of service to our school district, she has poured her heart into a couple of generations of Southwest kids. We’ll miss her greatly, but wish her much happiness. She is certainly deserving.”
Charlea Mills
After 23 years with Southwest Schools, Laura Larson is retiring and a whole school of former students is telling her goodbye.
Larson started at Southwest after teaching in Jefferson City for four years. She came to the school when then-principal Judy Randall interviewed her and was extremely excited about her experience with children with disabilities. Larson was hired as a preschool teacher because of her experience with children with cerebral palsy, autism, Asperger’s and hearing impairments and other disabilities.
Larson taught preschool for ten years with the district before switching to kindergarten. A lot of her experience in special education helped her to deal with students over the years. She said, “My experience with special needs and the training I received before I came here really enabled me to be more compassionate and be a more empathetic teacher, because I know what its like for those students.”
Larson moved to Southwest to be back closer to her family years ago. She said, “My family was back here and my mother was going to eventually need help in the long run. It was definitely a God thing.” Now, Larson’s mother lives beside her on her and her husband’s property in Washburn. She added, “My calling to teach came directly from God, and there was a reason he wanted me here.”
Part of the reason she feels like she was here was to serve the children and family in the community, regardless of their home life. When she was a preschool teacher, she visited a lot of families in their homes to work with them about the individual needs of the students. Larson said, “I love these kids no matter what their home life was. As a preschool teacher, I’d try to educate parents on how to work with them at home individually. I was never afraid of any place I went because I was there for the kids. It didn’t matter where they lived.”
With two generations of students who have received the foundation of their education from Larson, she can proudly said that she has a former student in every grade up through the graduating class, something that many teachers never experience.
Even though she is retiring, Larson said she still plans to visit the friends she’s made during her years at Southwest. She said, “I’ve told my friends that I’ll come in and make copies for you, but then I’ll wave and say ‘bye.’ I just want to volunteer and then get to go home.”
Now that Larson is moving on from the school, her faith is what is driving a lot of her and her husband, Ed’s, plans for retirement. She said, “God brought me here because my husband recently retired, and we know that God wanted us to be available anywhere he wants us in the missions field.”
The Larsons plan to go to Kentucky later this year to help families in Appalachia by helping with a Vacation Bible School, and Ed will do small construction projects. She also is volunteering with the Royal Kids Camp. Larson said, “We don’t know what God’s got in store for us, but we know he’ll open the door and we’ll be available.
Larson said that she plans to spend a lot of time with her family in her retirement. Larson has one daughter, Misty Leonard and one son, the late Robert. She also has two grandchildren, Robert and Paige. She said, “I’ll really enjoy spending time with my family once I retire, but I’ll also miss all of my friends that I grew to love here.”
Superintendent of Southwest Schools Bob Walker said, “During Laura’s 23 years of service to our school district, she has poured her heart into a couple of generations of Southwest kids. We’ll miss her greatly, but wish her much happiness. She is certainly deserving.”