When former Robinson Elementary principal Roxanne Howard announced her retirement in May, she said she wasn't sure what the next chapter in her life held for her.

"Retirement is another chapter for me. It's a big change. I guess I'll just write it as I go," she said prior to her retirement. "I don't know what is next."

Howard has already started writing that chapter, and it turns out that it's an epilogue to her teaching career. She is now the part-time credit recovery teacher for Hightower Academy.

"I'm doing credit recovery classes with the high school students. Right now, we have three different subjects we are working with," she said. "The system approached me and, having worked for 31 years, it's hard to come to a complete stop, so when this opportunity came along, I thought it would be great."

Howard said her transition from elementary school principal to high school teacher is one she is looking forward to.

"I'm very excited about the challenge here. I have only worked with elementary school kids, but to be able to work with high school kids, I'm excited. Hopefully I can make a difference," she said.

"I'm looking forward to building relationships with these kids and getting to know them. It's really satisfying, being able to help them with credit recovery. These kids are great, but they may be a little behind and we want them all to graduate."

Howard said she is looking forward to seeing familiar faces, even if she hasn't seen them in nearly 10 years.

"Some of these kids I know through Robinson, but I may not recognize them since they've all grown up," she said. "I'll be dealing with a whole new ball park here. I'm used to my babies and these are big kids."

As for retirement, it's a process that Howard said she is easing into.

"I think it's better for me than just to completely stop. I've been working so long that to fully stop is a huge difference," she said. "I was still in ‘go' mode and my mind is still thinking of things I should be doing. I think this will give me a good transition into total retirement, because I'm still fairly young. I'm willing to do this for several years still, at least three to five more years to transition."