South Windsor Teacher Retires After 35 Years

Bob Schmidt got the send off he wanted.

Indeed, the Timothy Edwards Middle School U.S. history teacher, who is retiring after 35 years in the South Windsor public school system, had a farewell reception in the school cafeteria on Thursday.

And he was surrounded by the kids he loves to teach, many of whom begged to have their photo taken with him.

“I’ve had some of these kids’ parents,” said Schmidt, who taught for five years at South Windsor High before moving on to Timothy Edwards for the next 30 years.

And while the technology may have changed dramatically during that time, Schmidt said that the core of what he did - teach kids about history and, on a larger scale, to learn to love to learn - remained the same.

“The kids know I have their back,” Schmidt said. “Even the ones that I’ve given the business to. They respect me and I respect them. I felt that the kids were the most important thing in my life. That’s going to be the biggest thing that I miss.”

Going forward, Schmidt, who will turn 57 in July, said that he will remain active in the community, serving on the Somers Board of Education and working with Rotary.

His colleagues, for their part, are going to miss him as well.

“He’s meant a lot,” said school psychologist Lindsey Pantera. “The kids appreciate him and enjoy having him. One of his students said to me, ‘It’s sad the rest of the kids won’t have Mr. Schmidt.’”