A Veteran Teacher And Coach Retires

By Susan Coney

Jane Vouros, a Newtown resident, retired at the end of the school year after 35 years of teaching and coaching. “I have had the opportunity to teach a couple of generations of kids in Newtown,” she said in a recent interview.

Mrs Vouros will not be retiring but simply switching gears to become in her own words, “chief cook and bottle washer,” at the soon to be open Dana Holcombe House. Jane and her husband, John, who was also a well-loved teacher in Newtown, are both venturing into a new stage in their lives by opening the inn this summer; a dream come true for them.

Mrs Vouros began her career working at the YWCA where she instructed and coached swimming. She reached a point at the Y where she had moved up as far as she could and would soon find herself behind a desk instead of working with people. Knowing that this would not be the job for her she decided to give public school teaching a try. Mrs Vouros applied in Newtown in the hopes of landing a job at the high school where she would be able to continue teaching and coaching swimming, the sport that she loved. Although Mrs Vouros was hired by the Newtown school system, it was not for the position she had hoped.

In 1970 Mrs Vouros went to work at Newtown Middle School where she continued to teach and coach until her most recent move over to Reed Intermediate School. Upon reflection she said that she was very happy at the middle school and enjoyed working with that age group of students.

In the 1970s she experienced a drastic change in the way physical education and coaching were handled due to the blending of students into co-educational classes, which was mandated by law. Along with that change, Mrs Vouros was able to witness first hand women’s progression into the sports world. “It was so exciting to see the girls stretching themselves and creating more opportunities. The boys also came to respect the female athletes more,” she said.

During her 35 years as a teacher and coach the opportunity to work with Special Olympic athletes has proven to be one of the highlights of her career. “Special Olympics is so close to my heart,” she said. Mrs Vouros has been actively involved in coaching Special Olympians for several years.

Another area of her work that she has found extremely rewarding was helping to create and fine tune the Project Adventure program at Newtown Middle School and now at Reed Intermediate as well. Project Adventure is a required class that helps students build positive relationships by playing games, solving problems, and challenging themselves. The motto of the course is: “Be here, be safe, set goals, be honest, let go and move on,” Mrs Vouros said. The class teaches students how to keep themselves and others safe. It helps students learn decisionmaking skills and allows them to challenge themselves in a safe and structured environment.

Mrs Vouros said that the course is very popular with the students and provides a number of character-building opportunities as well as the physical fitness aspect of the class. She was extremely happy to have been a part of the program when it first began. Some examples of class activities would be low and high rope climbing and rock wall climbing.

When the program was first being developed approximately seven years ago the funding was all but nonexistent, however Mrs Vouros was not deterred in acquiring the necessary materials needed to get a program going. She went to Chinz-N-Prints fabric store for weeks and collected foam scraps until she gathered enough to make the “marshmallow pit.” Her students had great fun swinging out on a rope and dropping into the cushy pit. Project Adventure has since become a premier program, continually adding new challenges for the students.

While Mrs Vouros said she will miss working in the school setting, she has not ruled out coming back into the schools as a substitute teacher once she and her husband get the inn up and running.

“I have been so focused on finishing up the school year and now with opening the inn, but I could certainly see myself back in the schools someday,” she said. Right now she is excited about the new challenges she will share with her husband, John, as they look forward to greeting and entertaining guests at their new inn on Main Street.