PERU — June Giambattista knew when she was a child and playing school with her six siblings that she wanted to be a teacher.

“I love to introduce and teach new ideas,” the Dirigo Elementary School fourth-grade teacher said.

When the school year ends, she’ll retire after 35 years in the classroom, mostly as a fourth-grade teacher.

“My mother always encouraged learning. All of us have some kind of higher education,” she said. “My family can’t wait for me to retire.”

Among her plans are visits to Canada to find relatives, spending more time with her three adult children and four grandchildren, reading more non-fiction books about Maine, taking watercolor lessons and perhaps tutoring or substituting in the classroom.

“I also have a lot of unfinished projects, such as organizing the house,” she said. “I know there is creativity in me.”

Giambattista, 57, launched her career in 1977-78 as a teacher assistant at the former Rumford Center School for Grades 3-5. She devoted two years to teaching Grades 2, 3 or 4 at the former Canton Elementary School and former Dixfield Elementary School.

Since then, she has devoted more than 30 years as a fourth-grade teacher, first at Dixfield, and now at Dirigo Elementary School in Peru.

“I like the challenges of fourth grade. They are able to be independent learners but still need support from their teacher,” she said. “The most exciting thing is seeing the growth of the students from September to June.”

She also likes the fourth-grade curriculum which allows a great deal of creativity, such as the study of the rainforest, where she is able to fit in planting, greenhouses, experiments and poetry.

Giambattista graduated from Rumford High School, received a B.S. in elementary education from the University of Southern Maine and an M.S. degree in literacy from the University of New England. She also has an endorsement in computer science.

It’s the technology that has changed teaching the most over the years, she said.

“Not just in teaching, but from behind the scenes,” she said.

When she leaves her bright, colorful classroom in mid-June, she’ll miss not only the students, but also her fellow teachers.

She said that she would miss “the camaraderie of the people I work with and the parents. Most parents want what’s best for their children.” 

She and her husband, John, live in Rumford.

“I love it when I hear that a former student went into teaching because of his/her fourth-grade teacher,” she said.

Fellow teacher Sarah Johnson said Giambattista frequently talks about former students coming back to talk with her. Because of this bond between teacher and student, Johnson, and others at DES, want former students to send letters to Dirigo Elementary School, Peru, c/o June Giambattista, about their memories of being a student and the impact Giambattista has had on their lives. The letters will be presented to her at a retirement party scheduled for May 10.