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A lifetime of teaching: Vandeventer Middle School named after longtime educator
Billy Thompson Vandeventer taught at Frisco ISD for 26 years, and on Sunday the school district will honor her service at the dedication ceremony of Vandeventer Middle School. Photo by Kelsey Kruzich.
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
When Billy Thompson Vandeventer first moved to Frisco in 1955, she was just 12 years old and the city was a much different place than it is today. Preston Road was a small country road, there were few stores and the schools all resided at the same campus on Maple Street.
Growing up, Vandeventer, who was Frisco High School's valedictorian in 1961, admired her great aunt's passion for teaching. Even tasks as simple as grading papers seemed like part of an exciting career path -- a career Vandeventer would eventually do for 29 years.
"Teaching was her life," Vandeventer said. "It always seemed like it'd be such fun to teach school. Grading papers, cutting out things, making bulletin boards -- she was always doing something, and it just seemed like the greatest job ever."
For the longtime Frisco resident, the dedication marks the most recent chapter in a storied career in education.
In 1965, Vandeventer graduated from the University of North Texas with her bachelor's degree in education. Upon graduation, she taught at Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for three years before moving back to Frisco to raise her family.
After graduating, Vandeventer even applied to teach at Frisco ISD, although the job offer she received from the district was not what she was looking for.
"I wanted to teach sixth grade -- when I first graduated from college, I applied here at Frisco, and they did offer me a job, but they offered me a first grade position," she said. "The board was a little worried I couldn't handle those big sixth graders, but I had my heart set on sixth grade, so I took a job at Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for sixth grade."
In 1970, Vandeventer received her master's degree in elementary supervision from North Texas, and at about the same time she and her husband, Larkin, moved back to Frisco to raise a family. When her youngest child began kindergarten, she too went back to school, this time teaching fourth grade at Frisco ISD.
"The year I wanted to start back teaching there was a fourth grade opening and not a sixth grade position, so I took the opening -- I wasn't quite as picky at that point," Vandeventer said. "I loved teaching fourth grade, but [eventually] I wanted to get back to my sixth graders and I also wanted to teach math, so I moved back to the middle school level."
Vandeventer taught for 29 years, 26 of which were at Frisco ISD schools. For 16 years, she taught fourth grade at Ackers and Rodgers elementary schools, and for 10 years served as a math teacher at Frisco and Staley middle schools.
When Frisco ISD Superintendent Rick Reedy called Vandeventer in February 2011, she first thought the district just needed someone to help out during TAKS testing. After talking to Reedy, however, Vandeventer learned of the honor being bestowed upon her.
"It was just disbelief -- I couldn't believe it," she said. "It was unbelievable my name would be up there with the teachers I had -- such as Mrs. Borchardt, Mrs. Fisher and Mr. Corbell -- who have schools named for them. These were all teachers I respected so much."
These days Vandeventer spends a lot of time with her grandchildren and helping out at her church, but she does occasionally run into former students.
"That's one of my favorite things now, to run into my former students -- I love it," Vandeventer said. "When I'm out shopping or eating, I'll run into former students and visit with them, and they bring me up to date on their lives and their families."
While she's had students go on to be doctors and lawyers, Vandeventer said the most important thing to her is seeing the happiness of her former students, regardless of what paths they've chosen in life.
"The thing that's important in teaching is to help each child develop their potential, no matter what they end up doing, as long as they can take pride in what they do and try to do it well," she said. "That's what's important to me -- that they're happy with their lives and that they're doing their jobs to the best of their abilities."
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