Retiring Teacher Reflects on the Role of Reading
by Jim Evans
My days at Hanson Lane are through
But I still have a lot to do
To share my thanks with all of you

Julie Hollingsworth, retiring from Hanson Lane Elementary after 29 years. On the computer screen is her grandson, Davis, who is in her retirement plans.

Who made life here so special.

("In Appreciation to My Friends and Colleagues" by Judy Hollingsworth)

Perhaps it was because her mother read to her daily and instilled a love of books and reading that Judy Hollingsworth eventually became a teacher specializing in reading.

But then, it also might have been because of the influence of her first-grade teacher, Mrs. Kinney, who taught her to love phonics and reading in the small two-room schoolhouse in the logging community of Rockport, Wash., where Hollingsworth was born and raised.

Both probably had an influence on Hollingsworth’s decision to seek a career in teaching — a career that now is winding down after more than 29 years — and a lifelong love of reading.

Hollingsworth was first introduced to teaching when she taught Sunday school classes and summer Daily Vacation Bible School classes in the seventh grade. After graduation from high school in 1959, she studied at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Ore. There, she was motivated by a psychology instructor with excellent teaching skills to seek her teaching credential at the teaching college in Ashland.

In Ashland, Hollingsworth renewed her friendship with her husband, Ian, who also had been a student at Multnomah, and they were married soon after her graduation in 1966.

During the next two years, Hollingsworth began her teaching career in elementary education while Ian completed classes in Moody Bible Institute’s missionary aviation program. They joined the Missionary Aviation Fellowship in 1968 and spent the next 12 years working in such places as Chiapas, Mexico; Shell, Ecuador; and Ahuas, Honduras, before settling in Ramona.

Their sons, Todd and Nate, were born in Washington and Ecuador, respectively, and both graduated from Ramona High School.

Volunteering to help with her son Todd’s kindergarten class at Ramona Elementary School sparked Hollingsworth’s interest in teaching again. Eventually, she headed the Hanson Lane Reading Center, leading it for eight years and managing three aides, while earning a master’s degree in education and a California reading credential.

"This was probably when I had the most fun," Hollingsworth said. "We devoted 25-minute one-on-one sessions with youngsters to teach them reading at an early age."

When reading centers were closed in 1985, Hollingsworth was transferred back into the classroom. She taught second grade at Hanson Lane for the next 19 years, teaching children how to read and helping them build a foundation in phonics and sight vocabulary.

And now? June 18 will be Hollingsworth’s official retirement day, but she plans to continue tutoring students in reading even after retirement. She also looks forward to pursuing some ambitious personal goals during her retirement.

"I intend to spend more time in my garden," she said, "and I am going to learn how to swim and how to play the piano. It is never too late to learn something new." She also intends to — what else — read. Her favorite books are historical novels, and she is currently reading "The Book of Abigail and John," a book of letters between John Adams and his wife Abigail.

Joy is mixed with sadness for Hollingsworth as her retirement approaches, but the teacher says her dream "is to one day have a private reading center in Ramona." And why not? Everything begins with a dream.

In the meantime, she said, "What fun to see former students around town, contributing to our community, and being assured that they know how to read, which allows them to reach for the sky."