ESOL teacher Valerie Hughey grew up traveling. Both her father and husband were in the military. Hughey started teaching for “selfish” reasons but soon found she loved teaching.

“[I’m going to miss] the camaraderie with the teachers that I work with and watching my students grow from not speaking English to graduating from school,” Hughey said.

Hughey’s responsibilities as an ESOL teacher are to give English lessons to non-native-speaking students. She has been teaching for 23 years. 

She first taught at Jefferson High School in El Paso, Texas. She earned a bachelor’s in business from the University of Maryland, a master’s in ESOL from Grand Canyon University, a specialist’s degree from Lincoln Memorial University, and a teaching certification from University of Texas in El Paso.

“I want the strong partnership I have developed with the teachers in this school and myself to continue,” said Hughey.

Hughey plans to travel and play a lot of golf. She also wants to learn how to play pickleball and be more involved in the community.

As she retires, Hughey would like to see her students get more credit for their hard work and accomplishments.

Starr’s Mill gives a warm goodbye to Valerie Hughey for her service to the Panther family.