Following 34 years of dedicated education at Parkview Elementary in Columbia, a much loved teacher is leaving the school to see where the future takes her.

Karen Dent started at Parkview back in 1989, but her background is in Randolph County, as she grew up and attended grade school in Prairie du Rocher.

It was in that small, tight-knit community Dent found a strong love of education and teaching.

She recalled one particular example of small-town charm that happened when she was in eighth grade. Her class was discussing the process of ice condensing, and her teacher during a small break in the day ran home to get an ice cream maker and some ice, and the class wound up enjoying ice cream outside that afternoon.

It was those sorts of moments and memories – which Dent said could really only happen in a small community like Prairie du Rocher – that helped instill her with an appreciation for teaching.

“I loved school when I was a kid,” Dent said. “I loved playing school as a little kid, and I always wanted to be the teacher, of course. I just had great teachers as a kid. I still remember the names of all of my teachers from every grade.”

Dent attended high school in Red Bud before receiving her higher education at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Dent originally hoped to work as a high school math teacher – she recalled being a math team kid when she was younger – but soon found that she had far more interest in working with younger students and instead pursued a degree in elementary education with an emphasis in math.

Graduating in 1989, Dent said she was something of a last-minute hire just a few days before the start of the year, but nevertheless found herself in the Columbia school district.

She recalled having a bit of a rough start. 

Columbia was an entirely new community for Dent, and it took her some time to get to know colleagues and others in town.

Dent also, given the rushed nature of her hiring, was left unaccustomed to her building as the first days there were spent preparing her classroom.

Dent described one particular incident at the start of her grade school tenure.

“The very first day of school, I had to take my kids to PE, and I didn’t know where the gym was because I hadn’t been around the whole building enough,” Dent said. “I looked at the kid in the front of the line, and I said, ‘I don’t know where the gym is, so we’re gonna both pretend like I do, and you’re gonna lead us down to the gym.’ And he was like, ‘Got it.’”

Dent started out as a fifth grade teacher for the district and ended as a third grade teacher, but that was hardly the only change she experienced over the years.

Dent noted just how much the district has grown during her three and a half decades in Columbia, with class sizes back then being half of what they are now.

Along with that growth, Dent spoke about how she started in the building now known as Eagleview Elementary. She, however, still thinks of it as Columbia’s kindergarten through eighth grade unit building.

Dent also described her switch to fourth grade. As the district grew and grades were sent to different buildings, she wound up moving to Parkview as she wished to continue working with longtime Parkview Elementary Principal Dr. Mike Beczkala.

Through the years, Dent found herself teaching a variety of classes – ever having a special affinity and skill for math – before eventually landing in her final position as third grade teacher.

Just as she recalled that memory of ice cream in eighth grade, Dent said much of her satisfaction as a teacher came from simple moments spent with students.

She specifically noted several jokes that developed among her and her classes, like her dog Daisy appearing in the credits of her presentations or her love for Harry Connick Jr. leading to students giving her a poster of him to hang up by her desk.

“My awards came from kids, when they said things or when they drew me a picture,” Dent said. “That’s the reward, when they recognized something about me or what I taught them or what I did with them.”

Though she was brand new to the community when she started in the district, Dent became close with many colleagues over the years.

Donna Myers was one teacher who worked closely with Dent. She spoke quite fondly of their time as colleagues, noting how she started in the district by stepping in for Dent during her maternity leave.

“She was kinda like a sister to me,” Myers said. “I feel like we’ve gone through a lot of things with our kids together, and she was kind of my mentor, the person I’d go to all the time.”

Myers further described Dent as not just a great coworker but a friend, often helping with math or technology issues.

Additionally, Myers commended Dent for all she brought to the district and everything she offered students.

“She’s touched so many kids’ lives over the years,” Myers said. “You could tell she has a love for teaching.”

Jenny Radosevich is another teacher who worked with Dent for many years. She echoed much of Myers’ kind sentiments.

“She is definitely one of the best,” Radosevich said. “I was fortunate to work with her 28 out of her 34 years. She not only is my colleague, my friend, she’s also my cousin.”

Radosevich also similarly described all that Dent put into her job, being “the earliest one there in the morning and the last one to leave.”

As she steps away from Parkview, Dent said she’s not entirely sure what the future holds.

Current plans mainly consist of spending her time cooking and baking as well as hanging out with her father. She hopes to volunteer and help out at her old school as she can – running copies rather than subbing – but for now, she’s not worried about keeping herself occupied.

“I’m just kind of taking it as it comes right now,” Dent said. “I know I’m young, and I’ll probably do something else yet. I just don’t know what that will be.”