For Barbara Brophy, teaching kindergarten had a special draw because of the changes she saw every day in her students.
''I think you can see a lot of growth in kindergartners,'' Brophy said. ``They come in scared the first day of school, but by the end, you can see such a difference.''
She has been making a difference with her students at George Washington Carver Elementary in Coral Gables for 36 years, a career that ends June 5.
Brophy, 61, began teaching at G.W. Carver in 1972 as a kindergarten teacher. She became a first-grade teacher after constant requests from the principal, and for the past 10 years has been the school's reading coach, helping students and teachers alike learn new reading skills and methods.
Cheryl E. Johnson, 45, is the current principal at G.W. Carver, 238 Grand Ave., and remembers how Brophy provided her with insight and tips when she first entered the school.
''Mrs. Brophy is so committed to the school and the community, and she's constantly impacting people's lives,'' Johnson said.
Not only is Brophy the school's reading coach, she also does the morning announcements and is a member of almost every committee at school.
She has arranged the student and author of the month awards, coordinated the honor roll, and helped with the dedication of the media center.
''I don't know what I'm going to do without her, I'm always turning to her,'' said Denise Gomez, who works alongside Brophy in the media center. ``I know she's going to be a huge absence next year just because she's involved with so many things and so many people in the school.''
Brophy is admired at G.W. Carver for many things, including her enthusiasm for teaching and her manner of relating to students.
In order to teach her first graders that they were from different parts of the world, Brophy held an ''international day,'' where students dressed up in traditional outfits from their cultural backgrounds, and parents brought in different dishes from around the world.
She has also taught her students how a caterpillar grows into a butterfly through observations of real caterpillars, and made cookbooks with the students' favorite recipes for Mother's Day.
Brophy wasn't afraid to run with her students during field day races, and cheered them on at the Junior Orange Bowl Parade.
However, what this imaginative teacher is best known for is her involvement in St. Patrick's Day. She usually dresses up in green from head to toe, like a leprechaun, and does the morning announcements with a heavy Irish accent. She doesn't stop there. Brophy, who is of Irish descent, also brings a different St. Patrick's Day-related gift to the administrators every year, and takes charge of decorating the school for the event.
'She has no problem getting down to the students' level. She knows how to help them and encourage them to grow,'' Gomez said.
Even with nine different principals and all the changes that Carver has gone through since Brophy first began teaching, she still manages to maintain an active role in aiding students and teaching them new reading skills.
''My first year here, there were only about 260 kids, and now there's more than 500,'' Brophy said. ``So many things have changed, there are kindergartners learning Italian, there are the kids getting ready for the FCAT. The education system has really changed.''
Although Brophy admits there are some down sides to teaching, including the long hours and sometimes working two jobs to make ends meet, she says the biggest pleasure is ``seeing a light bulb go off in a student's face when they finally get something.''
''The real testament to any great teacher is the students that come back to visit,'' Johnson said, ``and Mrs. Brophy always has past students coming to see her.''
In over three decades of teaching, Brophy has been able to interact with many pupils, including sometimes, all the siblings in a family. One such family is the Connors. She taught three out of four Connor children.
Brendan Connor, now 28, is the youngest of the four, and had Brophy for first grade. On Valentine's Day, when all the other children were writing cards to their moms, Brendan wrote a poem for his teacher.
''She was cute and fun, and about his size,'' said Julie Connor, Brendan's mom. ``I'm sure he was in love with her.''
