The Peace Corps assigned Mike Kistler to teach middle school-aged children on the Malaysian island of Borneo, in the jungle with no electricity or running water
Mentor moves on
By Colin Steele/ Csteele@Cnc.Com
Thursday, July 8, 2004
Mike Kistler didn't plan it this way.
When he joined the Peace Corps, he asked to serve in Micronesia because, as he said, "it looked pretty." He doesn't remember what field of work he requested, but it sure wasn't education.
"I certainly had no interest in going into teaching," he said.
But the Peace Corps assigned him to teach middle school-aged children on the Malaysian island of Borneo, in the jungle with no electricity or running water.
"It turned out that I loved it," Kistler said. "It was a fluke."
After leaving the Peace Corps, Kistler joined the Teacher Corps. His group of six people each picked one subject to teach. Kistler had the last pick and had no choice but to teach special education.
"I didn't choose it at all," he said.
But he fell into it and embraced it. Now, after a 32-year career at Masconomet Regional School (including 25 years as special education director), Kistler is retiring later this month. His lifelong devotion to helping children won't end, though. He's taking a consulting job, helping the town of Danvers place special needs students in private schools.
"Young people just need one or more adults who believe in them," he said. "When adults stop believing in you, it's easy to stop believing in yourself."
When Kistler began at Masconomet in 1979 there were three people in the special education department and "there were no laws mandating anything," he said. Today there is a staff of more than 50 people and "lots of regulations and lots of paper work," he added. But with those new laws and procedures, more and more students who would have otherwise fallen through the cracks are getting the help they need, he said.
Debbie Bromfield, a member of the Masconomet staff since 1985, will become the new special education director.
"I can't praise [Mike] enough," she said. "Words are unable to say how much he's meant to me as a mentor and a support."
The respect is mutual.
"She is absolutely the perfect person for the job," Kistler said.
Bromfield has already officially taken over as director, but she and Kistler will work together until July 29 to ensure a smooth transition.
"I don't feel like I can fill his shoes," Bromfield said. "I'm just going to do my best, and I just hope to keep what he has done going."
