Behind all of the students who go through Gretna Public Schools and then off to college, getting degrees in all different studies, there are teachers who push those students towards success. After many years of dedication to each student’s potential, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver will step out of Gretna Middle and High School for the very last time. Each student touched by their passion for teaching will continue to hold these teachers in their hearts. The legacy that they will leave at the two schools will echo throughout them.
Mrs. Amy Oliver and Mr. Jim Oliver married in August of 1992, and both have a passion for teaching. Mrs. Oliver teaches high school art, and Mr. Oliver teaches middle school American history. From 1992 until 1996, they were teaching in the same building. At the time, the middle school and high school in Gretna was combined into a sixth through 12th grade school with Dr. Kevin Riley as the principal. Dr. Riley would later become the superintendent, retiring in 2019.
But Mrs. Oliver had a lot on her plate at this time, being the only art teacher in the entire building.
“Basic art, painting, drawing, pottery sculpture, advanced art… I did all of them. So, I look back, and I don’t quite know how I did that, but I did,” Mrs. Oliver said.
But for her, teaching art to high school students is more than just another day at work. She said she looks forward to spending her retirement creating her own artwork, maybe as example pieces for her daughter, Kassidy Oliver, who was hired as the new Louisville High School art teacher to start this fall. Anyone can see that Mrs. Oliver’s enthusiasm for everything about art has been contagious, and it was passed on to Kassidy.
“My favorite thing about teaching art was that I got to teach something that I was passionate about, and that I love to do,” Mrs. Oliver said. “Most days, especially when I first started, I didn’t even consider it a job… I got hired, and I remember telling my parents after the first couple of weeks, ‘This is the best job ever.’ It was wonderful.”
Through some frustrations that got in the way of her passion for teaching art, Mrs. Oliver touched the lives of many students with that same passion.
“Mr. Moore did a watercolor lesson with the kids, and they got so excited that one student even said ‘I just feel like a little kid again,’ and it’s just that kind of atmosphere,” Mrs. Oliver said. “Those are the times I am going to miss.”
Deciding that it was time to retire came naturally to the Olivers, because after 32 (Mr. Oliver) and 33 (Mrs. Oliver) years of working for Gretna Public Schools, they thought, “it’s time.”
“It’s been hard to believe that it’s coming to an end, but yet I’m ready,” Mrs. Oliver said. “It’s been a great place to be.”
However, these decades of working for the same district was not planned. As they call it, it was only a “happy accident.” But this accident allowed them to have the exact same breaks and schedule, and it also allowed them to spend more time with their two daughters.
Mr. Oliver, like his wife, has an immense amount of devotion for what he teaches. He was a member of the United States Army National Guard for many years, so he was able to have personal, real-life stories to tell his students.
“I have a passion for history. I like to tell stories, find things about history and share that with the students,” Mr. Oliver said. “I am constantly reading up on different things to improve my classes and my lectures.”
Mr. Oliver keeps up with his past students at the high school as a track coach for hurdles. Throughout his time as a teacher, he has also coached the freshman football team, basketball and baseball. As the spring sports season just started, so has the last season for Mr. Oliver.
“I’m going to miss working with the students, especially watching them develop from their freshman year through their senior year,” Mr. Oliver said. “How much they change and how much they grow is what I love seeing.”
His commitment to education and love for the country has been recognized further than just Gretna Middle School. This past month, he was awarded this year’s Citizenship Education Teacher Award by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). A banquet was held to celebrate his promotion of patriotism, American history and civic responsibility. The plaque is now hung up in Gretna Middle School to commemorate Mr. Oliver’s achievement.
“It took a chance on us. It took a chance on me,” Mr. Oliver said. “You know, any time you take a new job, somebody is taking a chance or seeing something in you. The leadership here saw something in us, and it’s benefited us and our families. I hope we have benefited the community, the teachers or the students we have had in our classes.”
In retirement, Mrs. Oliver is looking forward to continuing her artistic work.
“I am excited to be able to sit down and do some of my own art. Whatever I want to do, I can sit and do that,” Mrs. Oliver said.
Mr. Oliver would like to spend his time finding a part-time job because, as Mrs. Oliver says, “He doesn’t sit still very well.”
This past summer, the couple traveled to Amsterdam with a group of friends. Now, they are convinced they would be able to go by themselves and would like to travel back to Europe after they retire. But, staying close to kids and family is important, so they plan to stay living in Gretna, home of the Dragons.
“We’re Dragons for life,” Mr. Oliver said.
“Yes, we’re Dragons for life,” Mrs. Oliver added.
