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Monday, October 17, 2016
Page #4
Howe's new librarian reaping the rewards of hard work and faith https://www.txfb-ins.com/insurance/agent/Grayson/23242/LorettaAnderson
Melissa Atchison feeling at home at Howe Community Library. Melissa Atchison was born in North Central Arkansas in a little town called Batesville. After many moves, the family landed in Plano, Texas in 1974 when Parker Road west of US Highway 75 was a gravel road. A Plano Senior High School graduate of 1978 and a University of North Texas graduate of 1982, Atchison started her working career as an estate administrator with Nations Bank for ten years. "I would probably still be doing that, but our oldest daughter (Catherine) was born in '92 and I quit to stay home with her."
on hiatus while their kids were little." said Atchison. "They told me that there were no part-time teaching positions available and they won't let you job share here and it's not going to work. I was still going to try so I emailed all three principals at Van Alstyne and the next day I got a response from the middle school saying, 'you're never going to believe this, but I have a two year part-time position open next year.' God opens doors and I walk through them like that when it's that obvious."
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As it turned out, it was a much better fate than she anticipated and she spent 12 years as a classroom teacher.
Not long afterwards, in 1994, the family moved to Van Alstyne away from the Metroplex. Two years "I ended up loving being in the later in '96, second daughter classroom." said Atchison. Amanda was born. She ended up teaching sixth grade "When I went back to work, I knew language arts in Van Alstyne for I needed it to be something with the those 12 years through last school schools because I wanted summers year. While she loved teaching, off." said Atchison. "It was too far she was patiently waiting the to commute to downtown Dallas librarian position to open in Van where there was a trust department, Alstyne. About 10 years ago, most so I just ended up at the library. I ISDs in Texas decided that they was volunteering at the elementary needed just one certified librarian library and decided that would be a on staff. This limited her good place for me. I thought it opportunities. would be a fate worse than death to be in a classroom full of kids the In keeping up with mandatory whole time. I had helped set up our CPET (Center for the Professional church library and I thought, 'this is Education of Techers) credits, she what I need to do. I need to be in attended classes in Austin this the library.'" summer and took some library courses to keep up with her Atchison then went back to school certifications. During that trip to to get her Master of Library Austin, she attended the Texas Science degree at Texas Women's Association of School Library University in Denton. She learned Administrators, she realized that there that she had to spend a now was the time to move forward minimum of two years in the with her goal of being a library classroom to be a certified school administrator. librarian in the State of Texas. Now she was staring at a two year "I just decided, it's time." said sentence of what she thought was Atchison. "I've got to use this MLS fate worse than death. (Masters of Library Science). That's where I wanted to be in the "I go to the Methodist church in first place." Van Alstyne and there's a Wee School there and a lot of the Wee From that decision, she went online School teachers were certified continued on page 11 teachers who had put their careers
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