By Lori EhdeFourth-grade teacher Helen Laabs is trying something new this fall: retirement.While her former colleagues are busy getting their classrooms ready for students, Laabs isn’t among them. After nearly 20 years in Luverne Elementary School, Laabs retired this spring, but she said she’s leaving students and families in good hands."We have a good school district," she said. "We have an excellent faculty."In addition to missing her co-workers, Laabs said she’ll miss working with children."Generally, I had very good classes — some more challenging than others — and it was fun to see the students grasp new ideas and concepts," Laabs said. "That was the fun part of it — seeing the light bulb go on."What she won’t miss is correcting papers."It is not an 8 to 4 job," she said about teaching. "There were very few nights I would not come home without a bag of papers to work on."Her earliest teaching experience was in Granite Falls, where she taught kindergarten for three years after earning her degree in Mankato in 1962.When she married Darold, they moved to Rapid City, S.D., where she taught kindergarten another two years before moving to Sioux Falls.It was there that they started their family — Carrie, Julie and Bruce — and she stayed home when their children were young.They moved to Luverne in 1972, and in 1982, when Bruce was in first grade, she returned to her education career.She started working in Luverne School District as a part-time teacher’s aid and management aid until she renewed her teaching license.She worked part-time for a number of years in the elementary school, filling in where the district needed her. For example, she covered a fifth section of reading and math, worked with learning disabled children, helped in the library and taught half-time kindergarten."The experience was super," she said. "I taught third grade for one year, and then I went to fourth grade … Some kids I had three years in a row, and there were advantages to that. You could see what they had done and their progress."But Laabs said she appreciated settling into her 15-year stint as a fourth-grade teacher."I had been shuffling around for so many years, I finally felt like they were my students," she said.She said she’s enjoyed working with all ages of elementary students, but fourth grade presents unique learning challenges."It’s the year the kids make the most changes," Laabs said. "It’s the year you switch from group teaching to expecting more individual work from the students. If kids are going to have trouble, it’s usually in the fourth grade that we’ll see it."She said Luverne has a strong educational system, but she worries about state and federal paperwork taking its toll on quality in the classroom."It’s all good stuff, but not all children learn at the same rate," she said. "Our teachers are conscientious. They’re doing their best to see that kids go on."Laabs is officially retired, but it may be awhile before that reality sets in.She’s been busy in recent weeks helping her daughter, Carrie Bakken, set up her classroom in Brandon, S.D., where she teaches third grade.She also helps her daughter, Julie, at the Good Samaritan National Campus, Sioux Falls.Laabs agreed to help school nurse Deb Vander Kooi with vision checks this fall, and she’s volunteered to be a Bookin’ Buddy for the school reading and mentorship program."Plus, I’ve told a lot of the teachers up there if they need me to help with their ‘putzy’ work, I’m available. "… But," she said with smile, "I reserve the right to say no."Laabs said she’ll look back fondly on her career."I appreciated the opportunity to serve the district," she said. "I enjoyed my years as a teacher."