Worthing kindergarten teacher retires after 33 years with district
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Growing up the oldest, Paula Keyman liked playing school with her younger sisters.
“I always played school. My sisters were my little students,” she said. “I always loved being around little kids.”
Keyman took her love for teaching to Augustana University where she graduated with degrees in early childhood and elementary education. She also has an endorsement for special education.
After doing her student teaching in kindergarten at Lennox Elementary, she started her teaching career in the fall of 1993 in the Lennox School District. That fall she taught early childhood special education part-time in Lennox and then would go to Chancellor Elementary to help a second grade student.
With that program going well in Lennox, the special ed director expanded it to Tea Elementary. After a year in Lennox, she spent four years in that role in Tea.
After five years in that role, the kindergarten position opened up at Worthing Elementary.
“That was just the perfect transition time for me so then I came over to Worthing in the fall of ’98. And, I have been here since then in kindergarten,” Keyman said.
During her career in the district, Keyman worked with five principals and seven superintendents. Her first principal, Grace Christianson, described Keyman as a good fit for kindergarten.
“During my years with the Lennox School District, I always said that Worthing Elementary was a little slice of heaven. It was because they had such good staff, with Paula being one of them. She has the patience and good disposition that kindergarten teachers need daily as they start students on their elementary school journey. Worthing Elementary was truly fortunate to have her for all these years,” Christianson said.
Spending her career teaching in the Lennox district, Keyman has taught in four different buildings in four different towns. She’s had six classrooms - three different rooms in Worthing.
In her estimation, Keyman has taught about 500 students over 33 years.
Her second principal, Darin Eich, said her calmness in the classroom has helped in teaching those students.
“The biggest thing that stands out to me in the three years I was in Worthing was Mrs. Keyman was always calm and patient in the moments of chaos in the classroom. There is so much going on in a kindergarten classroom. Being able to stay calm when 15 or more students are in need at the same time was always something that amazed me about Mrs. Keyman,” Eich said.
One of the more chaotic and challenging times was the Covid-19 pandemic. During Covid, she would record herself reading a story every day and push it out so they could listen to the stories at home and have conversations with their parents.
One highlight during Covid was when she got to hand deliver the memory books to her kindergarteners homes.
One child even rolled out the red carpet when she visited.
“I’ve never really felt like a celebrity but I did go to one little girl’s house and when I got to the door the mom said just a minute, hold on, and she said you can come in in just a minute. The little girl had taped red construction paper all the way down the hall and said she had to have red carpet when her teacher came so I felt like a celebrity. Her mom said we all had to wear yellow because that’s your favorite color. I’ll never forget that,” she said.
She said that other challenging period was during the Lennox and Tea Area split because some teachers were getting their contracts renewed and others didn’t.
“It was a hard time. It took a while to get everything figured out after that,” she said.
Keyman notes that in 33 years, Covid was just a bump in the road. She said the rest of the years have been so fun. She has met some of her best friends through teaching.
Long-time second grade teacher (now retired) Pat Hoffman was like her school mom when she started teaching. Now Keyman feels like the school mom for the younger teachers. First grade teacher Kristin Campbell and Keyman have taught together for more than 20 years.
“Kristin Campbell actually subbed for me when I was on maternity leave and so Grant (Keyman’s son) just turned 27 so she and I have known each other for that long,” she said.
Over the past 33 years, teaching kindergarten has seen some changes. When she started, kindergarten was half a day. Then they went to all day every other day for the second semester. Now it’s all day every day.
When she was student teaching, kindergarteners only had to know six sight words by the end of kindergarten. Now they have 60 words on their list to know before first grade. At the beginning of her career, kindergarten was a lot more play based.
“I’ve always been fortunate to have principals that really trusted me and let me keep the play component in the day because children are wired to play and they learn through play. That’s their work,” Keyman said. “Even though kindergarten has gotten really, really academic and the expectations are really high, I’ve still been able to incorporate play into their day and fine motor activities.”
Current Worthing Elementary principal Amanda Kruse appreciates the creativity Keyman brought to the classroom.
“Mrs. Keyman created a classroom where learning truly came alive through play, creativity and care. She believed deeply in developmentally appropriate practices and understood that young children learn best when they are engaged, active and filled with wonder. With her energy, kindness and thoughtful approach, she built a space where every child felt seen, valued and known — not just as a learner, but as a person,” Kruse said. “Her ability to connect with students, foster joy and turn everyday moments into meaningful learning experiences has left a lasting impact on our school community. She has been an integral part of Worthing Elementary for both students and staff, and she will be truly missed.”
While in college, Keyman dreamed of being a kindergarten teacher. She has been living her dream for the past 33 years and in that time, she has had the unique opportunity to have former students now have their children come through her classroom.
She has had three families where she has taught the parents and then their kids. Another neat thing, her husband taught in Canton. They have had six students that she had in kindergarten in Worthing that moved to Canton where they later had him as a teacher.
Keyman’s favorite part about teaching kindergarten is being able to teach kids how to read.
“That’s the most amazing thing to watch from the beginning of the year to the end that they learn how to read, they learn how to write,” she said.
Former Worthing principal Kim Poppenga-Smith recognized Keyman’s dedication to kindergarten.
“Paula’s years of dedication, creativity and willingness to always help wherever needed made her a valued member of Worthing Elementary,” Poppenga-Smith said.
In her retirement, Keyman plans to spend some time her grandson that was born in December and plans to do some part-time work at Sioux Falls Christian kindergarten and work with her former principal Kym Johnston again.
“Paula has always had a deep understanding of how to keep kindergarten instruction developmentally appropriate for students. She loved celebrating the growth they’d make in reading and math. Paula has always been someone I’ve been drawn to because of her kindness, faith and humor. So when SFC had a support role open to assist a Kindergarten teacher, Paula jumped at the chance to keep helping students,” Johnston said.
Keyman will miss the people the most.
“I love the people here. Worthing is such a gem,” Keyman said.