An Open Letter to My Mom's Staff (The Retiring PrinciMom)

Dear Riley Staff,

First and foremost, thank you for the lovely celebration honoring my mom. District 21, Cooper Middle School, and Riley Elementary have served as her home for over two decades. As this chapter in her life comes to a close, I am so grateful that you have been a part of her journey.

A career as an educator is often a thankless job. Hours are long, and it is nearly impossible to leave school work at school. As a principal, my mother's shoulders have been heavy with not only caring for students but also for her colleagues and staff - who are just as dear and precious to her as the students that fill your halls. In addition to advocating for kids, she has spent her hours advocating for her colleagues, filling empty supervision positions, scheduling specials, coordinating special services and programs, and fielding parent phone calls.


Carrie's gift as an educator and a mother has always been the ability to see the greater picture. When we cannot look beyond a given day, she has the innate ability to put the pieces together - to make even the most challenging experiences produce wonderful outcomes as she intuitively anticipates the effects of those outcomes. Because of her ability to vision cast and plan, I have seen Riley grow and change in her tenure as principal, and I have learned that even when life presents unforeseen obstacles, wonderful life lessons and experiences can be acquired as a result. Leadership is a heavy burden, especially for those like my mother, who lead with their hearts, but wearing one's heart on her sleeve also opens the heart up to a significant amount of love, which is why at our cores, we all became educators in the first place.

On early morning and busy afternoons, my phone has frequently buzzed. As the screen lights up with the name "MOM," I often can anticipate the conversation to follow. In some way, it will inevitably be about school, her staff, or the parent phone call that she faced about what happened on the playground again. My mom and I talk nearly every day - sometimes multiple times a day. In those conversations, a few themes have remained prominent in my mind. Not only does she talk about challenging parent phone calls or the youthful spats she had to solve at lunchtime, but she also talks about her staff - teachers she has hired, watched grow in their own careers, and people that she considers to be her school family. If you know only one fact about my mother, it is that family has and always will come first. As such, I have heard about your heartbreaks, struggles, and health issues. She has shared birth announcements, engagements, and new prospects. Just as we pack up our computers and papers to grade, she has packed your joys and heartbreaks carefully in her school bag and brought them home with her. For the last the 14 years, she has carried your feelings and thoughts closely to her. She has spent time reflecting and revising SIP days, meetings, and breakfast menus to best meet the needs of all those at Riley. And while she might not be skilled in the ways of Google, I'm sure we can all agree that she has perfected the chocolate chip cookie in such a way that it can heal any school ache or pain we might experience.

The legacy of an educator is often hard to define. How he or she touches the lives of students and colleagues alike is difficult to quantify, but our family was moved by the video messages that you assembled. Thank you for being a part of her story. Thank you for taking care of her in her home away from home. Thank you for eating all the experimental food that she has cooked for you over the years. Thank you for listening to her talk about her family - specifically her grandchildren. And thank you for sending her off with a splash!

Please note that you have made a significant and lasting impression on her life and mine as a result. I cannot express enough how integral Riley Elementary and the teachers and staff have been in making her years as an educator meaningful and memorable. The memories of your kindness and the sentiments that you have shared will be remembered and cherished by our family for years to come. Please visit Carrie as she turns in her school keys for a chef's hat at Anna's Fire soon. May you continue to pursue a love of learning and may your classrooms be full of eager and inquisitive young minds ready to learn for years to come.

With deep and sincere admiration and love,

Steph (McCulley) Sukow
A daughter, an educator, and a life-long learner