It’s 8:15 am in Portland, Oregon, and Ms. Van Lehman (or “Ms. V” as her students affectionately call her) is preparing to teach her last classes at Jackson Middle School.
Gayle Van Lehman, my Irish Twin, is retiring today after 20 years of teaching Language Arts and Social Studies to adolescents in the Portland Public School District. She spent the first 10 years at East West Sylvan and the last 10 at Jackson, a recognized Leonard Bernstein “Artful Learning” Leadership School. According to Gayle, the Bernstein model incorporates art and music into the core subjects.
Gayle is a fine teacher—as good as they come. She has a tremendous speaking voice, she’s funny, she’s beautiful, and she has what we used to call a “Pepsodent smile.” Of course, she is wicked smart. Gayle genuinely loves her students, even (if not especially) the challenging ones. She finds a way to reach in, identify their special talents, and cultivate these gifts.
It hasn’t been easy. For most of her career, she was a single mom raising three boys. In the middle of her career, she suffered a stroke, from which she fully recovered due primarily to her knowledge of stroke awareness and how to act “F-A-S-T.” Here is the blog: STROKE AWARENESS.
Along with the usual issues teachers face with parents and administrators, Jackson Middle School was overpopulated and underfunded. And in 2016, Portland Public Schools had a big problem with drinking water. Routine testing revealed an exceptionally high level of lead, which meant they shut off the drinking water on every campus and had to bring in bottled water. This issue has taken years to remedy.
And then there was the pandemic, when all teachers had to rewrite and administer online curricula. When students returned to the classroom in the years that followed, they were at a terrible disadvantage. Teachers were on the front line with jobs as important to recovery as health care workers, and their challenges lasted well beyond the implementation of the Covid-19 vaccine.
According to Gayle, the 2025-26 school year finally felt like things were “back to normal.” But it could be nostalgia speaking. Knowing this would be her last year teaching full-time, perhaps a bit of bittersweet crept into her recipe. And so I asked her if she had any regrets about retiring, and her answer was a very quick, “No!” That didn’t surpise me. For Gayle, teaching has been rewarding but exhausting. She deserves a rest!
Nobody ever said teaching was easy. But the times I have been lucky enough to witness my sister in action, she sure made it look easy. Once she invited me into her classroom to read to her students and I had their undivided attention. Their respect for “Ms. V.” was acutely evident. And they were likely amazed that we have the same voice!
I know Gayle will miss her students and her colleagues, but she has earned her retirement. I am certain my beautiful Irish Twin will make the most of it. Go get ’em Gaylie!
Finally, I want to congratulate you, Gayle, on an impressive career. You have made a difference in so many lives and I’m very proud of you. I truly hope this means we will get to spend more time together.
xo