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After 39 years in Prince George's County Public Schools, Springhill Lake Elementary School's assistant principal is retiring.
"I'll miss seeing the children every day as well as the staff," said Gloria Quick-Alexander of Fort Washington. "You just get attached to everyone when you're working in the school."
Quick-Alexander started as a teacher at James McHenry Elementary in Lanham, where she stayed for two years. Since then she has worked at numerous schools, including Rogers Heights Elementary School in Bladensburg and Calverton Elementary in Beltsville. She also served as the assistant principal at Fort Foote Elementary in Fort Washington and at Valley View Elementary School in Oxon Hill.
Quick-Alexander said that she was assigned to Springhill Lake Elementary School four years ago, and although the drive was nearly an hour each way, she decided not to transfer to a different school.
"I liked the school and I liked the principal, so I stayed," she said.
As an assistant principal at Springhill Lake Elementary, Quick-Alexander was responsible for meeting with parents, cafeteria duty, working with staff on the curriculum, teacher observations, attendance, activities for students, behavior problems, planning parent workshops and field trips. She also organized "sock hops" where children danced and got treats for perfect attendance.
"She was very friendly, likeable and easygoing," said the school's psychologist, Lora Mercer of Frederick County. "We're going to miss her."
Quick-Alexander was also responsible for coordinating the annual "Women in History" program and the "Universoul Circus" visit, as well as leading the Junior Achievement program, which teaches children about economics and business.
"She was good with students and good with staff and I never heard a cross word from her," said special education secretary Judy Brown of Bowie.
During the past 41 years, Quick-Alexander only took a leave of absence once so she could go overseas with her husband, Norman Alexander Jr.
She said many things, like the curriculum, student and teacher dress codes and the cafeteria food have changed since she started teaching in 1968.
She also said that the student dress codes have gotten stricter, and the teacher dress code has gotten more lax since she started teaching.
After retiring, Quick-Alexander plans to take some time to herself.
"I'm going to read a lot of books, do a lot of traveling, do aerobics at the ‘Y,' and just do things that I neglected while I was working," she said.