Two teachers face next step in teaching journey: retirement

MacKenzie Stewart, News & Opinion Editor
April 4, 2020

Administration weighs in on teachers' legacies

Stacey Gorman, assistant principal of teaching and learning; Christopher Lagioia, social studies and world languages department chair; and Randy Lerner, math department chair, discussed the contributions each teacher has given to MHS, and the key quotes are included below.

About Stacey Darcy, social studies teacher

  • “Besides being a classroom teacher, I think her legacy is probably going to be the Model UN work that she’s been doing…. That’s always a big event, and the number of kids they get to go downtown and the planning that she puts into it, I think she really is building relationships with kids and helping them prepare for that event, and it’s always a success,” Lagioia said.
  • “I think she’s had a significant impact on the government curriculum, and one of the things that I think is really cool about Mrs. Darcy is when…[she] came in and said, ‘You know I’m endorsed to teach psychology. I think I would like to teach psychology,’ and it isn’t so common for a teacher who’s been teaching a while…to come in and say you know what, I’m going to entirely mix it up; I’m going to try something new, and I just think that’s really cool…. It’s a lot more work to teach something new, and I admire that about her,” Gorman said.
  • “I think her kind of calming presence and kind of calming nature [is what I will miss the most]. I always appreciated that about her,…and I think that she really connects well with kids,” Gorman said.
  • “[She has] a very sophisticated sense of humor….She has the most amazing shoes, too!” Gorman said.

About Patricia Yordy, math teacher

  • “She’s definitely a legendary AP teacher. What’s amazing is that she’s really helped shape the curriculum in both AB and BC. What’s really cool about Mrs. Yordy is that she holds her students to very high expectations, but she shows them the pathway to get there. She helps them when they’re struggling or when they don’t understand,…and her students do very, very well on the Advanced Placement exams,” Gorman said.
  • “There’s just some teachers who become a part of the fabric of the building, and Mrs. Yordy is one of those teachers who, really, when you think of Mundelein High School, you think of Patty Yordy,” Gorman said.
  • “I think what I’ll miss most is her dedication to students….She’s taught a long time, and she’s dedicated really her life to this building….She’s made a lot of sacrifices for her students, and she continues to do it with energy and passion,” Gorman said.
  • “Mrs. Yordy is a very talented and very demanding teacher, and I think one of the things she’s definitely improved with her students and her colleagues is just that need to continue to practice and put in hard work to find high levels of success,” Lerner said.
  • “Mrs. Yordy and I have had great conversations over the past many years. We challenge each other in a very positive and productive way, and it helps make both of us better educators….I’ve been teaching with Mrs. Yordy for fourteen years. I always kind of view her as like, she’s mom. She’ll love on ya, but she’s going to be hard on you when you need to be….I think that’s the biggest thing that the school will miss is that she wants everyone to find success, but she can be hard on you in trying to get there,” Lerner said.

 

This year, two teachers, Patricia Yordy, math teacher, and Stacey Darcy, social studies teacher, will be leaving MHS to enter into the next phase of life– retirement. They have been involved in the school whether it has been both teaching AP classes and being a part of the school for decades or Darcy advising Model Union. Yordy and Darcy reflected on their time at MHS while their respective department chairs and Stacey Gorman, assistant principal of teaching and learning, gave insights into the teachers’ legacies. “They’re the kind of people who are going to keep making contributions to whatever they decide to do next,” Gorman said.

Stacey Darcy:

Undergrad: University of California, Berkely

Graduate: Northwestern University

Subjects taught at MHS: AP and regular government, Psychology, Sociology, Criminal Law, Civil Law, U.S. History, Global Studies (an older cultural studies class no longer offered), World History 

 

Why did you decide to become a teacher? 

Well, I’m not sure that I decided; I was actually finishing college, and I had been accepted to and was intending to attend a program on the East Coast for political journalism, a master’s program for that. And just sort of, literally, at the eleventh hour, last minute, I just kind of, for a number of reasons, had a change of heart, and I ended up, last minute, applying to Northwestern here [where they had a master’s program with teaching credentials]. 

How long have you been teaching in your career and how long at MHS? 

I’ve been at MHS 28 years, and then I taught for Cook county for a year, which was basically a program for non-violent offenders– I had to do an educational program… and, I was young, and I was out of school, and I needed a job. 

What has been your favorite subject to teach?

Definitely AP Gov. and psychology. I love psychology, too. 

What is your favorite memory at MHS?

When I think of what I have loved here, I mean, obviously, the friends that I have made. [Michele] Bonadies and I met the first night of grad school at Northwestern. Just being with those people, establishing those relationships, I have a lot of wonderful memories of teaching and students, and I don’t think I could narrow it to one. I’ve loved developing Model UN, and I’ve loved watching students at Model UN do what they do because every year they completely blow my mind in what they’re able to think of. There was a student I saw graduate; it was a very long road to his graduation…. In various things I had known him, and it was just an incredibly difficult process for him to get to graduation,….and he came back and came downstairs and told me that he was graduating…. I was a little overwhelmed at that point, like that’s sort of why [you teach]. 

What will you miss the most?

Oh, definitely my friends. 

What are you most excited for in retirement?

Well, first, obviously of course, Mrs. Yordy and I will be starting a rock band. We’re going to call ourselves “The Reassessments,” and our first album is going to be called “Straight Outta Class.” No, I guess I’m excited to have freedom to do some things I’ve not had the time or opportunity to do between raising a family and teaching. I have a lot of political and social causes that I believe in fairly strongly that I would love the time to be involved in that….I’m excited to move back to where I grew up, to San Francisco. I’m excited to never be in the winter again. I’m excited to maybe get to travel a little more with my husband….I want to go visit my kids a lot– be like the irritating mom that shows up, and I’m always there. 

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

I guess the one thing I would say is that everybody assumes…that when I say I’m retiring it’s because of the students…but it’s really not the students. The students have actually, with very few exceptions, been really great; our MHS students are just great people. 

 

Patricia Yordy:

Undergrad: University of Illinois 

Graduate: Saint Xavier University

Subjects taught at MHS: at least one level in every math subject except for Probability & Statistics and Statistics 

 

Why did you decide to become a teacher? 

When I first went to college, I was going to be a Spanish-speaking business major, and I took Econ and Accounting in high school and in college, and I decided that it just wasn’t interesting enough for me; it wasn’t challenging enough for me. Sophomore year, I said, ‘I like solving problems, and I like working with kids,’ and that’s why I want to be a teacher. I could stand up in the classroom and teach forever. I enjoy the classroom part; I enjoy it tremendously. I never tire of it, and I wouldn’t want to be done. 

 

How long have you been teaching in your career and how long at MHS? 

I will have 30 years in my career. I taught one year at Danville High School, four years at Mundelein, and then I went to Stevenson for two and a half years. Then, I had my son….I stayed home for ten years to raise my children. Then, a friend of mine needed a sub for a week here at Mundelein, and I came back to sub for him, and one of the teachers said, ‘Hey, do you want to job share with me?’ So, I came back part-time,…and I’ve been back since. I was very happy to come back to Mundelein. I love the staff at Mundelein. I love the students at Mundelein. 

What has been your favorite subject to teach?

Probably Calculus, either Calculus. It’s just so interesting and applicable and very difficult, and I can see kids really challenged, and I can see kids really work hard. And, I love the fact that at that level the kids are so interested in learning; they keep asking you questions. They’ll argue with you; they’ll just hound you to try and find an answer. 

What is your favorite memory at MHS?

One of my very favorite memories is some of my calc students coming back to visit and saying thanks for the preparation that I gave them, understanding that my expectation helped them adjust to college. So, one of my favorite memories is hearing the success of my students when they come back and talking to them; I like to see where they are and what they’re studying. 

What will you miss the most?

I will miss teaching math honestly. I will miss teaching math the most and doing math because I think it’s fascinating. 

What are you most excited for in retirement?

Travel– I have three sons that live in three states, and I’m going to go visit them ad nauseum, and I want to do some foreign travel. I have lots of friends and family that travel, and I want to travel with them. Two of the things I can tell you that are on my bucket list– one of them is going to visit the Holy Land and one of them is going on an African Safari. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Just that I think that MHS is a great place to be. I have really enjoyed the faculty in the Math Department, and I really enjoy the students.