Veteran educator to retire
Students' success was rewarding to Walter Reed
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - Some of Jackson's most experienced school personnel will soon be retiring. More than a half-dozen school employees had submitted their retirement request forms as of early June and others may submit their forms through August.

One educator who is preparing to say goodbye is guidance counselor Walter Reed, who has worked in Jackson for 37 years.

Reed was an English teacher at Jackson Memorial High School, a guidance counselor at the Goetz Middle School and then he returned to JMHS as a guidance counselor.

Reed said his job has been challenging. As a JMHS guidance counselor, he has handled a caseload of about 350 students per year.

"We cover all aspects of academic and social areas for students," he said. "We do college counseling and college admissions."

There is also an ongoing college counseling series for members of the junior class that Reed is involved with.

"We start in the ninth grade where we meet with each ninth-grader or as many of them as we can get to," Reed said. "We go over their schedules, their academic tracks, and we try to make sure they get into where they want to be. There's a lot of forward-looking."

Being proactive is a key for Reed, who said he is always looking ahead for freshmen to see what is happening in the sophomore and junior grades, with the ultimate focus being on the senior year. He also offers students vocational counseling.

His job has also required him at times to provide group counseling for students who are experiencing certain kinds of problems. He has also helped students who are having social problems.

During the summer, Reed has spent many hours arranging student schedules, and that is a significant task considering the fact there are about 2,300 students at JMHS. There are also a lot of meetings with parents.

When asked about the most outstanding highlight in his career, Reed said he did not want it to sound corny, but said it really was all a highlight.

"I've enjoyed everything I've done," he said. "I've done a lot of things around school. I've been a wrestling coach. I've coached middle school basketball. I've coached high school football and high school track, and there were a lot of highlights there. We've had a lot of success.

You know that Jackson athletics has been very successful over the last few years."

Reed said it has been rewarding for him to see students succeed in whatever they choose to pursue after high school.

The veteran educator said the time is right, after 37 years, to step down. He does not have any specific plans for retirement, although he said he would like to travel to see his children who live in various parts of the country and he would like to do some volunteer work.

"I'm not burned out. I'm not angry with anybody. I love doing what I'm doing, but I'm 60 years old and I've been in long enough and it's just time to move on. I still enjoy working for the schools. I can still [help out] on the scholarship committee. I plan to continue that. I'm staying in Jackson, and if they need me for anything, I'll be there," Reed said.