A La Conner educator for generations retires

If you attended La Conner Schools anytime in the past three decades, then you probably remember “Ms. Seeling.”

Maybe you sat in Peggy Seeling’s classroom in the 1980s when she taught social studies, or math. Or you may have spent sweaty afternoons running laps under her supervision for one of the sports she’s coached.

If you were a rowdy student, you might have had a little extra one-on-one time at Seeling’s office when she was elementary school principal.

Her friendly “school dog,” Tika—the yellow Labrador always by her side at the elementary school— is sure to be a fond memory for many students who had Seeling as principal before she transitioned to the schools district’s administration office.

Seeling’s last day is next Friday, June 30, concluding her career of 34 years at La Conner School District where she has shaped students’ lives in a variety of roles, including AVID Director, Athletic Director, Transportation Supervisor, softball coach and most recently, as interim superintendent.

Having Seeling step up as superintendent after longtime leader Tim Bruce left the position was incredibly helpful, school board president John Thulen said.

“It really helped having her experience,” he said, allowing them time to get situated before hiring someone permanent.

New hire Whitney Meissner will officially take the reins as the new superintendent for the upcoming school year.

“I have every faith that this district is in good hands,” Seeling said of the district’s future.

Thulen said one of Seeling’s biggest assets is her flexibility, that she’s a “jack of all trades” from all the different positions she’s held in the district.

He said he’s glad Seeling moved to La Conner when she was early in her career.

“We’re just really lucky this is the job she took, that we got her,” Thulen said.

Seeling isn’t sure yet what she’ll do next with her newfound freedom in the world of retirement, she said.

“It’ll be a big change for me. I’m looking forward to it but I’m going to miss what I’ve been doing for a long time,” she said.

After graduating from college in her home state of Minnesota, Seeling has been an educator since 1974 and worked for La Conner School District since 1983.

She’s witnessed many changes over the years.

“When I came here, the only existing things that we have right now are the admin building and the round high school. Everything else is new since I came here,” Seeling said.

The world of education has shifted too, she said—from testing on paper to computers, and a switch from the old “stand and preach” lecture-style teaching to a more nurturing approach used today, based on brain research about learning and leading.

“Education is way more user-friendly for kids today,” she said. “I think for the most part, the thing that has remained constant is the most important part of schools are the teachers and school staff who touch kids’ lives everyday. That hasn’t changed and I hope it never does.”

Seeling will be missed in La Conner, district Administrative Assistant Connie Funk said.

“She has shown all of us, especially the students, what it looks like to have staying power. Dedication to something bigger than yourself…” Funk said in an email. “She has always been willing to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work that needs to be done.”

One thing everyone knows about Seeling is that she loves animals, owning several pets and leading school drives to gather donations for the humane society.

“Peg’s love for animals is infectious and a great example for kids,” Funk said.

Seeling is also known as someone who isn’t afraid to get goofy and have fun with the students at school functions, from letting herself be dunked in the “dunk tank” by students to leading school dances.

Funk said Seeling is a specialist in the Mexican Hat, The Hokey Pokey and was known to do the Chicken Dance while fully decked out in a chicken outfit at the Elementary “Spring Fling.”

“Everyone who cares for Peg is excited for her next adventures, but she will be sorely missed here,” Funk said.

A former student of Seeling’s, Suzann Keith is now an English teacher at the high school and has high praise for Seeling, both as her teacher and now co-worker.

“She’s touched the lives of thousands of kids and families in a really positive way,” Keith said. “She’s worn every hat imaginable.”

Seeling has been good at communicating, listening and always has a cheerful attitude, Keith said, plus she is an irreplaceable “wealth of information.”

“She’s a real model for professionalism and dedication to the students,” Keith said. “She had the pulse of everything that was going on in the school. There wasn’t much that happened that she didn’t know about.”

Seeling, who lives in Bellingham, has driven the 40 miles to and back from La Conner for years, but it’s a commute she says she doesn’t mind because it gives her calm, quiet time to think and gather her thoughts before and after school.

“I’ve put a lot of miles on a lot of cars,” she said.

For Seeling, all her best memories of her education career were the relationships and interactions with people, beyond the paperwork and textbooks.

“It’s a people business,” she said—and Seeling knows her “people.”

“There are kids in this school that I’ve had their grandparents as students, and I knew their parents,” Seeling said. “So, I’ve known four generations of La Conner people. To me, that’s pretty darn rewarding.”

Her knowledge of La Conner families helped her be a better leader, because it allowed her to create a connection with students, she said—to be able to say, “I know your mother, or I know your grandfather.”

“When you know people’s story, you’re much better equipped to understand them,” she said.

Her goal all along has been to help every kid graduate high school, she said, but beyond that, to help kids become good people.

As she reflects back on her career, she hopes she’s had a hand in helping students do both, she said.