World's Greatest Band Teacher

Pictured here with DoJo is Janet Isham, the World's Greatest Band Teacher. Janet retired this year after 36 years of teaching. DoJo is actually one of her oldest students, since she was doing her student teaching at Kirtland Central High School when he was a senior in 1975. (Yeah, he's THAT OLD, but he doesn't act his age!) Apparently, listening to DoJo on the trumpet was not enough to deter Mrs. Isham from having a great career as a band teacher.
Janet Isham helped me (and countless others in our community) raise my children. Each of my five children started off with Janet in Beginning Band at Grace B. Wilson Elementary School in 5th grade. Apparently, even THAT didn't make her give up. I must admit that I haven't always blessed Janet's name. She insisted on having her students practice every night AT HOME. Let's just say that I felt her pain every night for years!

We LOVE Janet Isham and she will be sorely missed in our schools. Here she is with the Whipple girls. Megan played the tuba, Amanda played the French horn, and Kaitlin played the trumpet. Not pictured are Jared, who played the trombone, and Wesley, another trumpet player. When I told Janet how much I appreciated her helping me raise my kids and thanked her for putting up with Jared (She nagged him about his grades, taking some of the burden from me!), she chimed in that she was happy to put up with each of them, but that it was a blessing that I had spaced my family so that she never had to have two Whipples in the same band at the same time. Then she revealed the secret to her success...Jared actually PREPARED her to deal with Wesley! Thank you again Janet. I couldn't have done it without you! Happy retirement.