Abigail and Betsy Lash smile in one of the hallways of Miller School in Waldoboro. Abigail is wrapping up her first year teaching alongside her mother, who has been teaching there for over 20 years. (Photo courtesy Abigail Lash)
Many kindergarten students at the Miller School will go on to first grade to find their new teacher has the familiar last name.
After teaching at the Waldoboro school for more than two decades, first grade teacher Betsy Lash was joined by her daughter, Abigail Lash, at the beginning of this school year.
“I don’t think it was ever a surprise to me that she was going to be a teacher,” Betsy said.
The Lash family has a history of being educators, Betsy said. Her mother, great-grandmother, and Abigail’s paternal grandfather were teachers. Matthew Lash, Betsy’s husband and Abigail’s father, is the athletic director at Medomak Valley High School.
Abigail said her mom was a major influence her in her journey to becoming a teacher. As an alumna of Miller School, she said she was also inspired by her second grade teacher Pam Capella, who will retire after this year.
“I just have an overall draw to kids, and the impact that you can make on a student that might not enjoy school, and then they turn out to love it, which I have been seeing firsthand this year,” Abigail said.
Other than a family tree full of educators, Betsy said Abigail was bound to be some type of educator after watching her grow up. She said she was always the one watching over the younger kids at Little League games and other events.
Looking back on the past year, Abigail said her introduction to teaching has been everything she has wanted and more.
“It’s been such as full-circle moment, having them as teachers and then being coworkers with them,” Abigail said.
In the beginning, Abigail and Betsy said they had to work through some challenges that came from the dynamics of being mother and daughter, as well as the transition from former student to teacher. Once they found their balance, Abigail said the best part of her days were going home and talking about work with her mom.
“To have Abby, who everyone knows and loves but has known as Abby … my daughter, to come in as a professional and a coworker, it took us a little bit of time to just kind of find our way,” Betsy said.
Abigail said her favorite part about teaching has been the connection she has made with her students. She keeps a journal noting all of the funny things they say every day, she said.
In her first year, Abigail said one of the biggest lessons she has learned is taking difficult situations and turning them in to learning moments. She reminds herself she was exactly where they were and had teachers who went the extra mile to make sure she had a voice when she wanted one. Now she wants to do the same.
Abigail recalled a moment in the classroom from the past year where a student asked her if she could sing to the class. She said she thought “Why not?” and was glad the student had the confidence to ask her.
The next day, the parents reached out to thank her for letting their daughter feel comfortable enough to do that.
“Everything’s a teaching moment,” Abigail said. “It’s their classroom, so let them be somebody that helps run the classroom.”
Abigail said her biggest goal as an educator is not only to teach her students, but make sure they can laugh and have fun while they are in the classroom. She said she wants to make school a place where her students look forward to go to every day, not dread or see as a chore. She said if they are in an environment where they want to be there, they are more likely to learn.
This approach reflects in Abigail’s own life, she said work doesn’t feel like work because she loves it so much.
Betsy said she has been proud to watch her daughter take charge of multiple initiatives at the school and lead numerous projects.
“I’ve been a really proud mom, and we’re so lucky here at our school,” Betsy said.
Even though their classes are at opposite sides of the building, both Lashes said they have worked on connecting their classrooms. For Abigail, that means running ideas by her mom and letting her students know they have another teacher they can go to, she said. Not long ago, she led her students on a field trip to Betsy’s classroom while Betsy wasn’t there to borrow markers.
According to Betsy, Abigail has helped her have a fresh outlook on teaching as a veteran teacher. A part of the work balance they figured out after the first few weeks was understanding that not every question could be answered by one another, so asking another faculty member is OK as well.
When they leave school, Abigail said “teacher brain” never really turns off.
As she heads in to her second year of teaching, Abigail looks forward to seeing her current students grow in the next grade and welcoming a new batch of kindergarteners.
This school year is also the Principal Julia Levensaler’s last year. Abigail said Levensaler had a heavy hand in guiding her toward her career, including helping her find teaching opportunities while in college.
With the school year wrapping up and a year of teaching alongside one another in their belts, the two Lashes said they are ready as every to take on the next batch of students.
“Part of being a teacher is the flexibility, and it’s something that you can’t really plan for, but you can have ideas, and I think the generation of ideas for next year is just exciting to kind of think about,” Abigail said.
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