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While some adults may never re-enter their elementary school, Sharon Hindman intends to end one large chapter of her life at her first: Carrollton Elementary School.
Hindman, 48, attended Carrollton's kindergarten in 1967 and re-entered 22 years later as a kindergarten teacher in the classroom next to her childhood one. Today she is the school's special education chairwoman.
Staff old and new said long-time teachers like Hindman are why Carrollton has been a successful school for the past 50 years. The school community came together May 9 to celebrate Carrollton's 50th anniversary with a formal ceremony and outdoor festival.
Former principals Linda Sherwood, who served from 1985 to 1990, and Rise Gaines, who served from 1990 to 2004, sat onstage in the school auditorium with Principal John Enkiri, Gaines' predecessor, and elected officials such as New Carrollton Mayor Andrew Hanko to reflect on half a century of education.
Carrollton Elementary School opened in May 1959 as the first public school in the city of New Carrollton. City schools that followed were Charles Carroll Middle School in 1961, Margaret Brent Elementary—now Margaret Brent Regional School—in 1962, Lamont Elementary in 1964 and Robert Frost Elementary in 1968.
Students got into the anniversary spirit leading up to the Saturday celebration with a "Sock Hop to Hip Hop" dance where they danced to music from the 1950s through the present and dressed in clothes from different decades through the 1990s. On Saturday, families snacked on grilled food and students with painted faces jumped inside the inflatable moon bounce or rode ponies in circles on the school grounds.
Sixth-grader Danielle Lawrence, 12, of New Carrollton said her favorite thing about Carrollton is the teacher interaction because "they have fun with you even though they're teaching." Lawrence led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance before the ceremony began.
Gaines, who retired from the school system in 2006, said she considers Carrollton her best professional experience. She was excited to see the students she left in 2004—now sixth-graders—and still keeps in touch with staff.
Enkiri, Gaines and Sherwood make up 24 years of leadership at Carrollton. Another former principal who did not attend, Mary Louise Callahan, served for 19 years prior to Sherwood.
"One of the strengths here is that they maintain continuity of staff, that they remember the past, present and future," Gaines said.
Jay and Linda Waldon of New Carrollton said 50 years of service is a blessing and teacher Dennis Doherty gives their son, Nijel, 8, a third-grader, an excellent education. Nijel's older siblings Tiffany and Jamal attended Carrollton until 2000 and 2003 after transferring from Catholic school.
"They had a real good transition," Linda Waldon said "Tiffany won the spelling bee here. They got into Colours [Arts in Education Program] here. They sung in the choir here. They were just very active here."
Waldon said she has seen a shift in Carrollton's staff and student diversity since Tiffany left in 2000. Today she sees more black teachers, more male teachers and the student body shift from mostly black to mostly Hispanic. She said it was a culture shock at first for Nijel, who transferred from the majority black Nannie Helen Burroughs Elementary in Washington, D.C., but the shift complements the city's demographic shift.
"I think Carrollton has grown tremendously and for the good," Waldon said.
Demographics have since changed but the feeling of being surrounded by family remained. Only three weeks after starting at Carrollton in 1989, a pregnant Hindman was called to a "faculty meeting" only to be greeted by a surprise baby shower with "gifts piled to the ceiling from staff members I didn't know." She said the warmth she felt then still sticks with her.
Hindman, who now lives in Carroll County with her family, said friends ask her why she has not taken a job closer to home.
"Why would I want to?" Hindman said. "Why would I leave my family?"
