“I’ve got schools in my blood,” explains Edith (Edie) Jensen, and Edie’s time spent serving the education system has certainly proven that. Inspired by her years as an occupational therapist in the U.S. Army, Edie turned her love for teaching into a lifetime of service. Her experience spans roles as a teacher, an assistant principal, an employee at the State Department of Education in South Carolina, and a school and district administrator.
Her most recent role has been in a volunteer capacity at Deer Creek Elementary. However, once you hear from those she has served at Deer Creek, you will quickly discover the word “volunteer” could never adequately describe all Edie has done these past 12 years.
“Edie has made it her life’s passion to take care of us at Deer Creek,” said Amy Buitenhek, PSO president. Buitenhek goes on to say she wasn’t even aware of everything Edie had contributed until there was some talk of retirement, and she figured they needed to find out all Edie had been doing. The list, she said, was “much longer than we were expecting.”
Edie, now 88 years old, says she started at Deer Creek volunteering in kindergarten and first grade, then eventually filling needs in the library. Her love of reading has been a common thread throughout her volunteer work. Cori Waufle, Deer Creek’s principal, says Edie “provides books for Multilingual Learners in their native language” all on her own dime. “I give a book to every child in MLL” up to third grade, Edie explains. “In May, fourth- and fifth-graders can pick out their own books from the book fair; it doesn’t have to be in their language.” When Principal Waufle asks why she has a passion for this, Edie’s reply is simple: “Every student should have a chance.”
A fond memory that sticks with Edie was seeing a girl in fifth grade, sitting on the floor, leaning up against one of the beautiful mosaic poles in the building and reading a book. “She was into that book.” Nothing was distracting her, not even other kids going by. The “concept of what books can mean to people and children, and how unbelievably wonderful it is that this school and every school in this district has a very vicarious library,” is something Edie holds dear to her heart.
One of the biggest projects Edie has accomplished was encapsulating all the art throughout the halls of Deer Creek into a published book. “I’ve enjoyed photography as an amateur. I know photographers have developed an art of seeing, and oftentimes we go up and down the hallways, and we don’t really see. We look at it, but we don’t really look at it. The history of the artwork here is amazing to me,” Edie says. Buitenhek expanded that Edie “interviewed past employees back to when Deer Creek first opened to get the real history. She made over 40 books … to give to anyone.” Buitenhek goes on to say, “It’s incredible, all the time she spent interviewing and making sure nobody forgot what has been done …” at the school.
Principal Waufle adds that Edie put in the work to “research and get the history of each piece.” It’s a “beautiful collection and history of the artwork” featuring anything from student mosaics to art installations in honor of staff members, Waufle continues. “Anything that hangs on a wall or is part of the building, she captures in her book.”
Beyond literary contributions, Edie’s time is spent working on the grounds at Deer Creek as what Principal Waufle lovingly describes as the “resident gardener,” providing bark chips, planting annuals, and even watering when needed. Throughout the summer, maintenance staff will rotate through local elementary schools, which means there can be weeks when the gardens aren’t getting watered. Buitenhek recently discovered that this is when Edie would fill buckets of water at her home and drive them to the school.
For all of these contributions, Edie does not ask for reimbursement or recognition; it is all “out of the goodness of her heart,” Waufle says, adding, “And she’s always joyful, with a smile on her face. Kind.”
“The school really depends on the volunteers,” Edie states. “The teachers are superheroes, and their priority needs to be helping children learn, grow, and mature. Volunteers are needed to take on those tasks that take a lower priority.” Principal Waufle agrees: “Volunteering is important. When we invest in our schools, we are investing in our community, and it takes everyone.”
When asked how long she thinks she will continue to volunteer, and if she felt this work aided in her longevity, Edie ends by saying, “I am very fortunate, I say that with grace and humility … I can’t do as much as I used to, but … I will keep on doing things as long as I’m able, because I enjoy it.”
Know someone up to something good in your neighborhood? Think they deserve recognition for their good deeds? Please email mike@tigardlife.com. We’d love to interview you!
