Becky Gardner Story

 Wearing Many Hats

“The duties of a teacher are neither few nor small, but they elevate the mind and give energy to the character.”

—-Dorothea Dix

A career in education comes with outlined job duties. Differing roles among teachers come with specific responsibilities. Regardless of the expectations placed on teachers, there are often tasks taken on that don’t necessarily fall into the job description. Meeting the unique and many needs of the students and at times the families in our school community, involves tasks that don’t always directly align with teaching the core curriculum. Teaching students goes beyond basic academic skills, as we strive for growth in the whole child. In the past twenty-four years, Becky Gardner has demonstrated the concept of wearing multiple hats in her pursuit of supporting students, families, staff, and administration for Harper Creek Community Schools.

Becky was born and raised in Mid Michigan where she was involved in many activities as a child, prepping her for juggling multiple responsibilities simultaneously. She talks about her childhood. “I was born July 12, 1978 in Owosso, Michigan, as the oldest of three siblings.  My brother, Josh, was born in 1981, and my sister, Jenessa, was born in 1985.” Becky and her siblings were raised in Corunna, Michigan, where they lived in the same house their entire childhood. They attended Corunna Schools from Kindergarten all the way through graduation, as second generation students. “My parents, Randy and Darla Luft, also graduated from Corunna. Both are retired now. Dad worked for General Motors and Mom worked for Delta Dental.” 

Being immersed in sports would become an important component of Becky’s school experience with her participation in athletics in middle school and high school. This athletic foundation was established early on for the Luft siblings. “My family has always been very active,” Becky recalls. “Both Mom and Dad played recreational sports as adults. We spent much of our time as children at the softball field during the summers.” Organized activities helped to fuel a mentality of exercise for Becky and her siblings, but staying active went beyond sporting venues. “We enjoyed camping and outdoor activities growing up. Much of our time was spent riding bikes. I remember riding often to my grandparents’ house. The farmhouse we lived in was surrounded by fields. I enjoyed watching the area farmers bail hay during the summers and harvest crops in the fall. When I was little, I followed my dog Kelly into the cornfield behind our house. My parents called my grandparents and aunt to come help them sweep the cornfield. I don’t really remember it exactly, but they talk about it often and how terrifying it was because the corn was above my head and at the back of the field was a creak. I was just a toddler at the time.”

Spending time with extended family was an important part of Becky’s childhood. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins would gather together for not only the holidays but all year around. Becky reflects on a tradition that was established that carries on today. “My entire family on the Luft side worked on a Christmas tree farm and ran different tree lots throughout my childhood. This was a year-round job when I was little, shearing and painting the trees during the off season. My family owned land near Cadillac where we planted, grew, and harvested trees for many years. We would drive to Cadillac and cut trees in November, and haul them back to Corunna the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. The tradition continues today, though it’s a little different. My brother and parents both still run Christmas tree lots back home.”  Each year before the holiday madness begins, the Luft family enjoys a cherished family tradition.  “We all gather on Thanksgiving Day, eat dinner, and then the women make wreaths in the barn to take home for the holidays while the men shoot at clay targets out back. Then we spend Black Friday setting up the Christmas tree lots and selling wreaths and trees.” Even after moving away from Corunna, Becky has stayed involved with this holiday ritual. “Since graduating from high school, I have gone back to help every year during the holiday season. My husband Doug and my boys Carson and Cooper also help out each year. Thanksgiving weekend is always a busy weekend for us.” 

Becky was exposed to many things growing up in the Luft family. She thrived with this model and helped to shape how she approached life. Her upbringing paved her path for being a well-rounded student. She reflects on memories from school. “I rode the bus from our house in the country to school every day. The elementary building I attended, Louise Peacock, was a Kindergarten through fifth grade building. We also had two other neighboring elementary schools that fed into our school system. Corunna Middle School was a sixth through eighth grade building.” Corunna Public Schools had a small town feel to it with multiple generations of children making their way through from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. Some of Becky’s teachers had also taught her parents when they were youngsters. Becky was a well-behaved student and was not disciplined often, but she remembers well one occasion of being held in for recess for spelling her name wrong, an infraction which would not require staying in for in today’s schools. 

Being assigned jobs is common practice for students. Becky explains this process in her elementary school. “We were assigned different jobs in our cafeteria including serving food or washing dishes. We considered this a privilege and enjoyed it. My great aunt worked in the cafeteria so I was always excited to help out and spend time with her.” Other memories from elementary school for Becky include having three daily recesses and pairing up with book buddies with a first grade classroom when she was in fifth grade.

The transition from elementary school to middle school brought with it extra-curricular activities. Immersing herself in much of what her school had to offer sort of defined Becky’s secondary education experience. She talks about how she enjoyed participating in a variety of activities. “I was a cheerleader in middle school and participated in other sports, including volleyball and intramural softball. My interest in media started in middle school as a member of the yearbook committee.”

Becky hit her stride with extracurriculars as she transitioned from the middle school to the high school, where many more activities and opportunities were offered. “I played softball and volleyball my freshman year, but eventually I was participating in athletics year around. Corunna’s softball coach was also our school’s cross country coach, Becky explains. “He made a deal with me that if I went out for cross country, he would work with me on getting in extra batting practice.” Although running wasn’t her first love as an athlete, cross country would become the sport that she appreciated the most. Cross-country filled her schedule in the fall and softball in the spring, but she also was active in the winter. “I played volleyball for four years, three years on varsity.” Becky paints a picture of the importance of athletics in her high school career with some of he highlights and setbacks she was able to overcome. “I was selected as the Corunna Female athlete of the year my senior year, an honor that came with a scholarship and the opportunity to speak at the end of the year athletic banquet. I played softball for four years, three years on varsity, and my senior year was named Miss Softball for our team, an award voted on by the team. For my senior softball season, I was able to play every position with the exception of catcher and shortstop.” Injury was a part of the process for Becky as an athlete. “I broke my ankle during volleyball season my sophomore year, which put me out for the rest of the season. I broke the same ankle again the beginning of my senior volleyball season, but was able to come back near the end of the season. Becky took on the role of utility player for her softball team her senior year,  a baseball/softball term designated for a versatile player who is able to fill in wherever needed. The title of utility player fits her well now with all the roles she has filled in her tenure at Harper Creek. 

Sports played a major role in Becky’s development as a student and as a person. She explains. “Being involved in athletics was huge for part of my high school experience. Our volleyball team was a tight-knit bunch. We were able to break many records over the course of my four years. We qualified for regionals two years in a row, making it all the way to the regional finals one of those years.” Perhaps cross country was the sport she learned the most from. “I feel that the important part of cross country is that it is an environment in which everyone supports everyone else, including teammates and athletes from other schools. Cross country helped me form positive relationships and positive bonds, while  teaching me many lessons.” 

Sports made a huge impact on Becky’s life, but all extracurricular activities played a major role in the values she has folded into her life as a teacher, wife and mother. Becky talks about other activities she was involved in. “I was a part of the student council in high school and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), an organization aimed at teaching children skills to help them learn how to resist peer pressure and lead productive drug and violence-free lives.” Becky also worked with Corunna High School News (CHS), which helped to foster her interest in the media. “CHS News was a school-based news platform that was broadcast live to the entire school each day. We would make announcements and share news stories. Another opportunity I was granted my senior year was being chosen to represent Corunna High School at Girls’ State, a leadership conference that focuses on government functions. This is a week-long conference that takes place each summer on the campus of Central Michigan University.” Becky also continued her work with the yearbook that she had started in middle school, joining the yearbook club in high school. Even with all the extended amount of time devoted to school activities, Becky was able to babysit her siblings, work part time at a local ice cream shop, and umpire little league baseball games.

The time that Becky spent working on the yearbook and broadcasting news daily with CHS piqued her interest in pursuing a career in the media industry. She gives details about post high school education. “I graduated from high school in 1996. As a high school student, I never went on a college visit. I applied to Michigan State University (MSU) because it was close to home and my uncle had played football there. I also applied to Central Michigan University, and Grand Valley State University. The time that I had spent in my broadcasting class made me begin to realize that I might want a career in journalism and perhaps be a news anchor.” Becky decided to enroll at MSU to pursue journalism. As a journalism student, English classes made up part of her schedule as a freshman. “I gained some experience working at a local news station my first year at MSU. I would go on assignment to interview people.  I soon realized that I didn’t like sticking a microphone in people’s faces. I wasn’t convinced that I still wanted a career in the media. I continued to pursue journalism but also began formulating a backup plan to also earn a teaching degree. With the English classes that I had taken, I thought that if journalism didn’t work out, I could teach English.” Becky graduated from MSU in 2000, earning a BS degree in journalism. She continued at MSU another year taking graduate level classes to add a teaching certificate and completing her student internship, teaching English and Newspaper at Williamston High School. 

Becky was ready to take on the world with her journalism degree and teaching certificate, and ultimately decided to pursue teaching as a career. “The climate of teaching was much different in 2000 than it is now,” Becky explains. “There were many more teachers than there were jobs available. I interviewed with Mike Ott, Harper Creek Middle School’s principal, in the summer of 2001, was hired, and started at Harper Creek in the fall of 2001. I was at the middle school for three years. I also coached track and volleyball while at the middle school and helped with Student Council.” 

A few years after joining Harper Creek, Becky would make the shift to the high school. “When the new high school opened, I was moved there to teach English and Year Book,” Becky recalls. “This was a difficult transition at first. I continued coaching sports at the middle school for a few years, and then in 2006 I started coaching volleyball and the pom team at the high school. I also taught a Newspaper class for a few years.” Becky continued as an English teacher for Harper Creek High School for nearly fifteen years before making another major change. “In 2015 I moved into a job as a Graduate Coach.” This entailed working with at-risk students who were struggling to stay on track to graduate. “As Grad Coach I worked closely with students on academics and social behaviors. I was an adult in the building they could go to for support in any area. I would describe it as the combination of a school counselor and special ed teacher, but not necessarily either one of those. There was a lot of overlap. Keeping in contact with parents and teachers regularly was a big part of my job as Grad Coach as well. My primary goal was for kids to earn their diploma, even if it was a non-traditional track or outside of Harper Creek.” With her interest in media, being an English teacher was a good fit for Becky. She talks about what ultimately led her to leave the English department, making the change to Graduate Coach. “Supporting kids and helping them to find success has always given me joy. This is one of the things that interested me in the Grad Coach job. I feel that a strength for me is helping kids at different places in their learning.”

Becky continued as a Graduate Coach for nine years, but with changing roles in this position, she decided to apply for something new, moving into a different position in 2024. “This year I transitioned to one of the high school’s MTSS Instructional Coaches, also known as (MTSS) Multiple Tiered Systems of Support Coordinator. My job duties are broad as MTSS Coordinator, helping out when and where needed to support students, staff, and administration. Some of what I do includes working closely with the administrators, helping with curriculum alignment, mentoring new teachers, and providing student and staff support where needed. I also am part of implementing building initiatives (like the new schedule), building testing, and being a part of our building's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team, child study team, while also serving as the high school Homeless Liaison. Becky has also taken on other jobs while working for Harper Creek including coaching middle school cross country, working the table for home volleyball games, and being the PA announcer for middle school track, varsity track, and Girls On the Run.

Through all of the job changes that Becky has gone through at the high school, she has continued her role as Yearbook teacher, giving up that role this school year. I loved doing yearbook,”  Becky admits. “It’s rewarding to help students create something that will be looked at by many Harper Creekers for years to come. I worked very closely with our publishing company, and I enjoyed the yearbook family atmosphere, but in my new role as MTSS Instructional Coach, teaching yearbook would have taken too much time away from being able to support staff in other ways.”

Becky has filled her plate through the years as an educator, coach, and serving various extra-curricular leadership roles. Having a hand in so many aspects of our school district feeds into her goals. She explains. “As an educator, I enjoy new learning opportunities. In my current job I have a lot of learning to do. We are navigating this as we go. It’s kind of a fluid role. I am willing to help wherever needed.”

Becky’s parents and all of her siblings still live in Corunna. Sprouting out on her own a few hours down the road may have presented a bit of an adjustment, but she has laid down roots of her own in the Cereal City. She goes into more detail about this. “I met my husband Doug in 2003 through a mutual friend. We were engaged about a year later. and were married July of 2005. Cooper was born in July  2007, and Carson was born in May 2009. We are all pretty active as a family.” The Gardner family spends much of their free time outdoors. “The boys like outdoor activities. Doug and the boys like to hunt, ride mountain bikes, and ski. We used to go camping a lot when the boys were younger. Doug grew up on St. Mary’s Lake so we spend a lot of time at his mom’s house in the summer on the Lake. Doug owns a landscaping business and the boys work for him during the summer months.”  Now that Carson and Cooper are in high school, the focus of Rebecca and Doug’s extra time has shifted a bit. “Cooper has a passion for running. He runs nearly every day and has for several years. He runs both cross country and track, and hopes to continue running after high school. He has run the Cereal City Half Marathon the last two summers and competed at the State Cross Country Meet as a junior. Carson plays tennis and he will pole vault this spring in track. He also competes on the clay target team. Doug and I enjoy watching them compete as athletes.”

The history of public education tells us that schools are responsible for teaching our youth academic skills to prepare them for becoming independent, productive adults. To be effective in doing this, we must go beyond academics and nurture the development of our students in a whole child approach. Teachers learn to adapt. As changes occur in society, changes occur in what children are taught and how they learn. Education is a fluid process. The roles that we play as educators are continually being adjusted. Becky’s story is a reminder that educators must wear many hats to help our students succeed.