Reading nook dedicated to ‘champion for kids’

By Chris Spangler

Barrie Elementary School has dedicated a library reading nook to the late Debra Pierce, a longtime educator remembered as a “champion for kids who really need a voice.”

On Friday, friends, colleagues and a former student recalled Pierce, who taught special education/learning disabled pupils at Barrie for more than 30 years.

Pierce, 66, passed away from cancer on Sept. 7, 2021.

Among the dedication’s attendees were Pierce’s husband, Tom Pierce; son and wife, Christopher and Stacey Pierce; daughter and husband, Mallory and Jonathan Klaphake; granddaughter, Ryann Pierce; brother and wife, Doug and Lisa Smithback, and sister, Lisa Butler.

The dedication of the Debra Pierce Reading Nook took place in the Instructional Materials Center (IMC) and was led by fifth-grade teacher Holly Andrews and librarian Carolyn Barels.

“We’re dedicating part of the Barrie IMC to Debbie for all the students’ lives she impacted over the years,” Andrews said. 

She pointed to the Debra Pierce Reading Nook, which is adorned with a quilt in recognition of Pierce’s love of quilting.

“Teachers can bring our students down and we can do some fun read-aloud,” Andrews said.

Barels noted that Pierce started as a special education teacher at Barrie in August of 1999, coming from the Janesville School District. 

Prior to that, Pierce had graduated from Fort Atkinson High School and then earned a home economics degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She went on to obtain her master’s degree in special education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“Debbie grew up in Fort Atkinson and wanted to teach in the same school district she grew up in,” she said. “Debbie was an incredible teacher. She always put her students first and would sometimes create six or seven — or even more — lessons a day that would fit each and every student’s educational goals and their IEPs (Individualized Education Programs).

“She would arrive early in the morning and continue to work after school, although she always fit in an after-school walk to stay fit. She was one fast walker,” Barels added.

Andrews shared some fond memories of Pierce, and then the floor was opened to others wishing to offer remarks.

She said that she and Pierce team-taught reading and writing for quite a few years and they “could finish each other’s sentences. 

“I was always inspired by the way that she would think of our lessons that we planned together, because I was still kind of a newbie,” Andrews said. “But the one thing that she always said as we worked together was that ‘these (special-education) students are not my students; they’re our students.’ … I just really loved that about her.”

Andrews recalled many conversations about the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers, and making paper cheesehead hats. Pierce drew several friends to Weight Watchers and healthy eating, and was known for “her famous bean dip.”

Barels also remembered Pierce for making cards and doing pilates with colleagues in her classroom after school. Moreover, she said, Pierce not only cared greatly about Barrie’s children, but also about its staff.

“She was such a wonderful role model and example for all of us and mentored so many of us,” she said.

Barels read written remarks from Kris England, a former second-grade teacher who was unable to attend the dedication.

“I have such fond memories of working with Debbie to help our students at Barrie,” England wrote. “She was my go-to person for any questions that I had regarding helping students with their needs, and she worked so hard to service everyone she could.

“She was compassionate, smart and was loved by all who had the privilege to work with her,” England concluded.

Denise Engstrom, a third-grade teacher at Barrie who dressed in bright colors in honor of Pierce, echoed that Pierce thought of her students as “our students, and not only that, but those kids who weren’t in special ed were her students.

“She was there to support anyone, no matter who it was, with their learning,” she stated.

Engstrom recalled that one year, Pierce had a class of 27 pupils. However, she made “groups out of groups” … “and they were working hard and learning.”

Mary Pat Cook, a retired music teacher who worked at Barrie, Rockwell and Purdy elementary schools, recalled the annual winter concerts and programs.

“She was always saying, ‘our kids. They really need to be involved in your productions,’” Cook said, adding that they brainstormed about how to accommodate the special-education pupils’ talents and needs.

For instance, if one pupil would be really good at drumming, but couldn’t stay after school to rehearse, they would find another time during the day to do so.

“She always was trying to help me organize, which was good because I’m organized, but not that organized. She just made things really workable,” Cook said of Pierce. “She was a team player; she was for all of us, for all of our kids, Love you Debbie.”

Jim Fitzpatrick, district administrator from 1999 through his retirement in 2013, looked around the packed Barrie library and remarked, “the soul and spirit of this school is oozing for me right now.”

He recalled addressing teachers at an August start-of-the-school-year convocation and saying that he essentially didn’t care about standardized test results. He would take care of the politics.

“You teach these kids like they’re your very own, like they’re your own flesh and blood,” he recalled advising them.

“One of the joys I had was coming to this beautiful, wonderful neighborhood school …, climbing up to that second floor and going by Debbie Pierce’s room,” Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, she made darned sure you knew they were all of our kids and that they better be a part of those music programs because she was a champion for kids who really need a voice. And that’s the kind of people you stand up and cheer.”

Sue Bradley, who was a teaching partner with Pierce for 15 years, shared a “mom story.”

“Debbie was not just a colleague; she was a friend,” she said, noting that her son, Joel, was the same age as Pierce’s son, Chris.

She reminisced that when he was in his teens, Joel complained that “you do not let me do anything. You never let us do anything. Everybody in town knows that you’re not going to let us do things so they’re not even ever going to invite me.”

So Bradley asked Pierce and other friends whether they thought she was off track or being too strict. She then told Joel that she has friends with kids his age to ask for advice.

“And he replied, ‘Oh, right, and you’re probably going to ask Mrs. Pierce. She’s the strictest mom in Fort Atkinson,’” Bradley said to laughter.

She also remembered an expression Pierce used often when perhaps frustrated: “You are not going to believe this!”

“When you teach, you have to have that friend that you can rant with, you can share with, that you can say aye, yi yi: what is happening? And so she would use that all the time,” Bradley said.

“The last thing she said to us (upon her retirement) was ‘please don’t ever forget me. And I don’t think we will. We couldn’t,” she said.

Ann Massoglia was a speech and language pathologist at Barrie for nearly 34.5 years, working with Pierce and Bradley as a team. 

“How fitting, appropriate, how spot on that this dedication for Deb is here. Because literacy was her passion. She spent many hours in training and teaching. It was a huge part of her teaching career,” she said.

Massoglia read a revised version of a retirement poem she had written to Pierce. She cited Pierce’s sense of humor and ability to brighten up a room with her presence.

“She was a confidant I knew I could always talk to because she truly cared,” she said. 

She added that Pierce was a strong advocate for her students, always teaching them to their full potential.

“Mrs. Debbie Pierce, Mrs. Pierce, Debbie or Deb, thanks for being such a great colleague and friend. The memories, the positive influence and the love you gave us will have no end,” Massoglia concluded.

Marsha Wilson, a friend of Pierce for many years, shared that while Pierce “loved her kids,” her granddaughter, Ryann, was “the star of her life.” Before she was born, she sewed quilts and clothes for her and was so excited for the baby’s arrival.

“When she found out she was sick, the one thing she kept saying to all of us who were her friends was, ‘I’m so sorry that she’s going to miss out on having her grandmothers,’” Wilson recalled.

She herself was especially glad when Pierce retired because they saw each other more often, including at Tuesday Club and Bible studies.

“What a fabulous friend. Always thinking of other people, putting them above their own needs. I miss her every day. I was thankful to know her. What a blessing she was,” Wilson concluded.

Also speaking was Joe Overturf, former director of special education and pupil services for the School District of Fort Atkinson. He recalled joining the principal in interviewing four candidates, including Pierce, for the Barrie special education job.

“We sat and we listened to Debbie and then after she left, we both looked at each other  … (and said) ‘this is somebody who wants to be here.’ 

“She accepted the job and was nothing but a delight to work with,” he said of Pierce. 

Overturf noted that as a supervisor, he liked to visit teachers and students in their classrooms.

“Debbie’s was one of my favorite classes because I knew the second the kids walked into the door, they were going to be engaged in instruction,” he continued. “… She had kids of different ages, different abilities and she’d have every one of them on task, and I credit that to her planning.“

He noted that Pierce’s passing was difficult for a lot of people.

“I guess the older I get, the more I say that there’s people who think and people who give. We’ve got thinkers and we’ve got givers. You know who the thinkers are; you see that every day. … Then you’ve got the givers. You’ve got the people who, day in and day out, give unconditionally, humbly, without request, that’s just part of them.

“And Debbie was a giver. No question about it. I never heard an ‘I’ from her. I never heard an ‘I need this, I need that.’”

“She gave me the gift of giving,” Overturf concluded. “She was a gift, and I’m a better person as a result of being around her.”

Jackie Klaphake, Mallory’s mother-in-law, shared that like Pierce, she was a teacher, too. 

“Debbie and I shared a lot of stories about our experiences teaching,” she said. “And some of those stories were a hoot. … We felt so comfortable because we had the same background.”

She said the minute Pierce walked into the Klaphakes’ home in St. Cloud, Minn., “it was like I knew her all my life. She was like a sister to me …”

Klaphake said that she thinks of Pierce every day, whether being reminded by one of her recipes or a quilt she made that hangs in the Klaphakes’ bedroom. 

“My biggest memory and my greatest pride right now is to have the honor of having Mallory as my daughter-in-law because Mallory, although she may not realize it, her mannerisms are so much like Debbie. The way she talks, the way she uses her hands for expression. It’s just amazing. And then of course, her physical being She looks just like her mom.”

She continued: “So I feel very, very lucky — and our whole family does — to have Debbie’s daughter as part of our family, so unlike all of you,  … I have Mallory all the time and I feel very, very blessed. And Debbie will always be in my heart. I miss her, but I know she’s in a good place now with her mother, Ruth. I miss her too. Two wonderful women, but they’re with us, they’re here right now; I know they are. And they will be with us forever.”

Also speaking was Mason Shuppe, a sophomore at Fort Atkinson High School who had Pierce as his teacher during elementary school.

“Even though speeches aren’t my thing, I can hold one-on-one conversations for hours. That was one thing that was so great about Mrs. Pierce. We’d talk about anything that came to my mind and happened in my life. She always listened so carefully and showed interest in everything I shared with her,” Shuppe said.

“She was not just my teacher, but my friend,” he continued, saying that even after he moved on from Barrie School, Pierce occasionally would send letters in the mail.

“When I heard Mrs. Pierce was sick, I sat down right away to write her a letter, telling her what a difference she made in my life,” he said, later adding, “Mrs. Pierce was just one of those teachers that words can’t even justify to describe the kindness and energy and attention she gave to those around her.”

Rounding out the memories was Brent Torrenga, former principal at Barrie Elementary School who worked with Pierce for about eight years.

“Probably one of the most meaningful things for me is we would meet in the lounge and we would talk about our Bible study, and we would talk about what she is studying and I would tell her about what I am studying, what I am reading in the word of God,” he said. 

When she broke the news that she was sick, he said, “I remember vividly her looking me in the eye and she said, ‘I am going to beat this or I am going home.’ And I think a lot of people at times think that home is somewhere that maybe they’ll have a chance yet, but I know that God was doing the work in her life that she had that assurance that no matter what happened, God was faithful and that she was going to be with him in glory. And that impacted me tremendously, just that conversation.

“And she fought and she fought, but she was at peace because she knew that God’s plan was for her to go home.”

Finally, he recalled that when he once was presenting an award to Pierce, he described her as having “velvet on one side and steel on the other.

“She had a way of getting after the kids she worked with and she had them toe the line. She had expectations, and I think, Mason, you are the epitome of what Debbie Pierce was all about. You just nailed it, dude. You nailed it, because you defined what her heart was in education and what she did all the time. You brought it home,” Torrenga said.

“There were times when she was velvet and she would love those kids. If kids didn’t have clothes or they were hungry or they weren’t at school, we would jump in the car and go find them because it was about the kids. It was about raising them up to be productive citizens and go on to that middle school. So she has impacted us more than we could share.”

Photos by Chris Spangler unless otherwise indicated.