On Dec. 16, Coppell High School teacher, club sponsor and department head Shelly Redding closed the door to her small, hidden office in A hall, drove to her country home and took on her newest endeavor: retirement.

“I’ve never missed a year [of school], so when September comes around, and I don’t go to school, I think my brain and my body is going to kind of be confused because I’ve done that since I was 5 years old,” Redding said.

Redding began her teaching career by substituting at Nimitz High School in Irving the summer of her college graduation from the University of North Texas. Moving on to teach at CHS in 2002, Redding has started school every fall since kindergarten whether it be as a student or a teacher.

Since coming to CHS, Redding has taught a variety of subjects ranging from accounting, to finance to Ready, Set, Teach!, a class that gives students who want to be teachers the opportunity to go to other Coppell schools and work with their teachers and younger students.

Apart from teaching, Redding has served as the head of various departments and clubs in her 14 years at CHS such as the senior class sponsor, where she was in charge of organizing senior events such as prom, the senior end of year breakfast, head of the Career and Technology Education (CTE) department and Red Jackets coordinator.

“I like being busy,” Redding said. “I like being involved and doing stuff with kids.”

Longtime colleague in the CTE department at CHS, Becky Richards recognizes the drive that has made Redding so involved in many programs of the school.

“She’s an activator,” Richards said. “Her dedication through especially the last 10 years that she’s been here at CHS to further the high school and to take large responsibilities and make sure they get done and her leadership role in this school [sets her apart].”

In 2009, Richards, Redding and 53 Ready, Set, Teach! students went on a trip organized by Redding to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, a school internationally renowned for its academic rigor and creative learning environment. She organized the trip because of her students’ interest in visiting the school.

“I went down to [former CHS Principal Brad Hunt] and I said, ‘This is something that we really need to do,’” Redding said. “These kids are thinking about being teachers [and] Ron Clark is one of the greatest teachers ever.”

Addy Buigas-Lopez was a ready, set, teach student of Redding’s in 2012 and is now a teacher in Tallahassee, Fla. She recalls the aspects of Redding’s teaching style and care for her students that made her unique.

“She helped a lot with teaching social values and kindness and how to portray that in the classroom which is something that my students have needed,” Buigas- Lopez said. “She works really hard for the school and I know that she cares about her job a lot and she cares about all her ready, set, teach kids.”

Dec. 16 marked the end of Redding’s 30-year teaching career making her eligible for retirement and was also her last day at CHS. She will be living where she has always wanted to be after retirement in her country home in Larue, Texas where she has horses and cows. She hopes to travel and to be able to do things she was not able to while teaching.

“I wanted to be sure and retire at an age where I could still go and do lots of fun things,” Redding said.  “As soon as I got to where I was eligible [for retirement] I was like ‘I love teaching, but there’s some other things I want to do, too.’”

Congratulations to the Teacher of the Issue Mrs. Shelly Redding and best of luck in your retirement.