Portales assistant superintendent retiring

PORTALES — Portales Municipal Schools Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Curriculum David Van Wettering may be retiring from the district effective June 30, but he isn't ruling out teaching again.

“My son lives outside of Lubbock, and I've got two grandkids there. I will probably be an educator somewhere in the Lubbock area. I don't know if that will be (as) a principal or a teacher, but one of those two,” he said.

In his 26 years in the district, Van Wettering has assumed the role of middle school teacher, Valencia Elementary School principal, Portales High School assistant principal, and his current position.

Van Wettering has been responsible for innovations including the departmentalization of subjects at what is now Lindsey-Steiner Elementary School, according to PMS Personal Computer Technician Tim Richardson, who taught next to him for several years.

“A teacher will teach a subject instead of everything. He's the one that started that. He and I first started switching (subjects). He would do my science and I would do his social studies. Everybody else started doing it,” he said.

“He's just a good guy. Kids loved him, he's very knowledgeable, he's a great teacher, really friendly, easily approachable for the kids. He still wants to go back into the classroom. That's how much he likes kids,” he said.

What has been most rewarding about working at PMS?

For me, it was back when I was a teacher working with kids. The most rewarding component was when I had daily contact with kids and was able to teach, and I saw light bulbs come on and I was able to help kids. We worked on a lot of things, not just academic things, but also just being a better person sometimes.

On the administration side, you get to affect more things. The advantage of being an administrator is you get to hopefully have a positive impact on more kids and teachers, and in this position, even principals.

How has your career affected your life for the better?

I would say I owe a debt of gratitude to many Portales school employees for helping me learn many things. I came into this district very green, had a lot of things to learn, all the way from classroom management to being a better teacher, and I've learned from many of the best here in this district. I think it's changed me drastically. When I go to Lubbock, I'll be a far better person than I was when I came to Portales, because I've learned a lot from working with Portales schools.

What impact do you hope you've made on the students and faculty?

I hope they've learned to love learning, because I think that's important, to be a lifelong learner. I hope I've made an impact in that. I think knowledge is power, and I hope I've helped them to learn enough to be successful in life. I hope I've made some friends in the process. I think it's not disconnected from being friends. I hope those are lifelong friendships for them and for me.

What experiences will you take with you forever after you leave?

I don't know. There are many things that come to mind. I think one thing is just a passion for helping educators succeed. I have a great admiration for teachers and their passion for kids. I know there's some educators out there that aren't all we'd like them to be, but there's a whole lot of them that are just outstanding people. My passion is to give them the tools they need to succeed, so that's what I hope I can do when I go to Lubbock.