Findlay Elementary will officially rename the school’s gym after current Kindergarten Teacher and Basketball Coach Rhonda Girdley Monday.
Girdley has taught at Findlay Elementary for 50 years and coached the elementary school’s basketball program for 44 seasons. Findlay Elementary School Principal Rebecca Ryan said Girdley’s contributions off the court and outside of the classroom made renaming the gym after her a slam dunk.
“She’s coached middle school softball, she substitute drives a bus, so she just goes above and beyond and has committed all of her life, you know, to just the impact of the kids here at this school and the teachers as well,” Ryan said.
Ryan said Girdley embodies everything that Findlay Elementary stands for. Ryan said having someone who has worked as long as Girdley at one school is unheard of nowadays.
“You can go into her classroom any day, and you would never know that she has been teaching for 50 years,” Ryan said. “She is still singing, lively, interacting with the kids; she always meets new challenges head-on, you know, of course, in 50 years a lot has changed with education, especially with technology, you know, she is always willing to learn new things and try new things and adapt with the changing times, and I would dare say you can ask people you know who there teachers were over the past and everybody who has had Mrs. Girdley as a teacher is gonna remember her.”
Ryan jokingly said that many people are sometimes scared of Girdley, as she was not afraid to get a technical foul by standing up for her players.
Ryan said a sign has been created, which will feature a portion of the coach’s box from the old gym floor.
“We laughed, Mr. Alspaugh, the former principal said, ‘You know it’s the best piece of the floor because it was the coach’s box, she never stayed there,'” Ryan said.
Ryan said she hopes people who see the new sign will remember the dedication Coach Girdley has had for White County Students.
