Glenn Boettcher retires after 34 years teaching
Glenn Boettcher teaches his growing greens class in the lab. He is teaching them the pH of the plants that are needed to sustain life.
June 2, 2023
The clock reads 5 a.m. as Glenn Boettcher rolls into the parking lot. With just a few other cars in the lot, he finds his spot and prepares for the day. The halls are calm and empty as he enters the school. The clock ticks down as he waits for the halls to start bustling and the first bell to ring. “Just a few more days,” Boettcher thinks as the final bells of his career ring.
Boettcher has been an agricultural teacher for 34 years and will be retiring once this school year is over. He taught fish and wildlife, food science and animal care management. He has also helped run the FFA organization for many years and continued to lead students to the agricultural lifestyle and future.
Chemistry teacher Bryce Ellefson describes Boettcher as a “teacher who cares for all his students and continues to push them to be their best.”
While teaching he has also been the supervisor of Future Farmers of America. FFA provides leadership, personal growth, and career success training through agricultural education and practice. He continues to push his students to improve their knowledge in the field and help elevate their public speaking skills.
Grace Grant, president of FFA, explained that the new supervisor will have big shoes to fill, “I don’t really think it’s even possible.”
In his 34 years, Bottecher has impacted many people in his life. He is a role model for not only his students, but his co-workers as well. He helped guide his fellow teachers to success in teaching students and provides them with his extreme knowledge of the academic field. Since he started working students have looked up to him in many ways. He is dedicated to the agriculture lifestyle and how to live your life sustainably and continues to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.
“I admire his unbelievable passion for what he does like, and just the amount of knowledge he has about everything he teaches and how much he cares about his student’s success,” Grant explained.
The most memorable moment of his time here was when he was helping with FFA. After a group of students were involved with his forestry class he helped push them into the FFA side of agriculture. The students entered the forestry development event contest. Those students went on to win first in the region and the first Stillwater team to win a stadium event. They then went on to compete at the country level and placed 2nd overall.
“Two of the four are now involved in a forestry career,” Boettcher explained. “Helping them get to the careers that they are now has made me feel extremely accomplished.”
After many years Boettcher has decided to take some time to relax. When he is done at the school he plans to sit back and relax and even do some more fishing. He explained he will get the chance to go visit his children and their spouses more often and be able to enjoy life with them. He has a few more students enrolled in Osceola that are freshmen and sophomores and he is excited to get the chance to do some of the events and activities held by them till they graduate.
