“It’s a place like no other — not just the academics, but the students’ willingness to engage, to talk and their enthusiasm. This place is pretty spectacular, for both the students and teachers.”
These words were spoken by Kathleen Bowers as she prepares to steps away from her position as a teacher at Palo Alto High School. Through her 38 years solely at Paly, she leaves a legacy of impact on thousands of students across her various roles as a math teacher, TA and former athletics director and softball coach.
According to Bowers, the key factors in her decision to retire were spending more time with friends and family.
“For me, it was two things: one, my first grandchild was born; he’s a year old, and they live in Santa Barbara, and I like to go spend time with him,” Bowers said. “But more, what I’ve noticed is it’s more like my whole peer group, like all of my good friends — almost all of them have retired, and so they’re going to bridge class on Tuesdays at 10 o’clock. I’m not. They play pickleball, and I can only play one time a week; they’re getting a lot better than me, and I’m a little competitive.”
Bowers said even after retirement, she plans to tutor so she can remain engaged with one-on-one student learning.
“I plan to tutor a couple of kids just to stay with my favorite part of teaching, which has always been teaching kids math, being with the kids, having a one-on-one relationship and watching them grow as math students,” Bowers said. “There’s still ways to keep that piece without all of the other pieces that encompass being a teacher.”
According to Bowers, many of her past students have later become teachers — a number of which are currently at Paly.
“I did an internship year at Gunn where I taught two classes, and now I’ve had students whose parents I’ve taught,” Bowers said. “There are many teachers here that I’ve taught: DJ Shelton, who left; Sima Thomas in the library; Liz Mueller; and many more.”
Bowers said that she’ll miss the memories she’s made with all her students through the years the most as she heads into retirement.
“I’ll miss the kids and the moments that you like about teaching, like the ‘aha’ moment when they get it or when the kid talks to you about what they want to do in the future,” Bowers said. “The energy that kids bring; they’re by far the best part of the job.”
Besides teaching math, Bowers has also been involved with a number of other roles throughout her career.
“I’ve taught math all of the years, but I was also athletic director for two years when they built the gym,” Bowers said. “I don’t know how I got talked into that, but that was an experience. … You realize that it’s easier sometimes to work with kids than adults because everyone’s got their own opinion, but kids are a little bit more malleable for lack of another word.”
Throughout her time at Paly, the school has sustained a number of physical changes. Bowers said that there have been many new buildings constructed during her time here.
“When I started, this building wasn’t here, the MAC wasn’t here, the PAC wasn’t here, the science building wasn’t here, and the gym wasn’t here,” Bowers said. “The math building was the 700s building, and that was my classroom for like 15 years.”
According to Bowers, she and fellow math teacher Natalie Docktor have been very close since the beginning of her career here.
“Natalie Docktor started the same year as I did as well, and she’s retiring as well,” Bowers said. “We went to grad school together; she interned here at Paly, and I interned at Gunn. We have had a really tight department who we’ve done so many different fun activities, like sailing, ropes courses, all kinds of different team building. I’ve really appreciated how tight department has been for years and years.”
Bowers said she is confident in the next generation of math teachers to carry on her legacy.
“We do feel it’s a changing of the guard,” Bowers said. “But we feel like the younger teachers are ready and willing and excited, and it feels good. You feel like you’re leaving everything with good people.”
According to Bowers, she has thoroughly enjoyed her career and wanted to leave it on a high note.
“I think it’s time to do different things,” Bowers said. “It’s time for the younger teachers who have more energy and enthusiasm and patience than me to also kind of take over. It’s been a great place to do my entire career. … I didn’t want to get too jaded before I left, and I wanted to be young enough to enjoy my retirement.”
