Laurie Welser of Norris Elementary, who is retiring this month after a 20-year career in the classroom, is preparing to sail off into the sunset – literally.

Laurie Welser

Welser, a second-grade teacher at Norris who has taught in the Suttons Bay and Traverse City school systems, and her husband Paul already have their Elmwood Township home for sale.

“When our house sells, we’ll live on our sailboat. We’ll go south, to the East Coast, wherever,” said Welser, who along with her husband owns a 34-foot sloop.

Welser called her impending retirement “bittersweet.”

“I’m very anxious, and we have some big plans, but I’m going to miss the children and my fellow teachers,” she said.

Welser first came to Suttons Bay in 1985 with her first husband, the Rev. Mark Hirt, when he took the pastorship at Immanuel Lutheran in Suttons Bay and Bethany Lutheran in Northport. After he died in 1989, she married again in 1997.

During her teaching career in Suttons Bay and Traverse City, Welser has taught preschool, the “Fours at Risk” program, kindergarten and second grade. She also taught for one year at the Pathfinder School, and was at Norris for the last eight years.

During her two decades in the classroom, Welser said she’s noticed many changes in education.

“The children seem a lot more independent than they used to be. They come to school with a more experience outside the home,” she said, citing daycare and preschool programs.

She’s noticed a change with parents as well.

“Parents are busier than they used to be trying to juggle a lot of things, like their children’s education.” said Welser, who is 55.

Welser said that one of her favorite aspects of Norris is its diversity.

“We have lots of diversity, from families representing all kinds of socio-economic backgrounds, to students who have different ethnic backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve also had the good fortune to work with a wonderful staff, and that’s been a real joy.”

One of Welser’s colleagues, Norris special education teacher April Branson, is also retiring after the completion of the school year.