ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130078
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Dorothy Mallis has taught at Crystal Spring, Raleigh Court, Wasena, Westside and Mountain View elementary schools.
When Dorothy Mallis was growing up in Connecticut during the 1950s, young girls were expected to become secretaries, nurses or teachers.
There were few female doctors, lawyers or business executives then.
Mallis didn't like the sight of blood, and she didn't relish the thought of answering the phone or taking dictation.
She became a teacher almost by default, though she had no burning passion for the classroom when she went to college.
But teaching became a labor of love for her.
Now 62, Mallis has spent 35 years teaching reading, writing, spelling, math, English and other subjects to hundreds of kindergartners and first-graders in the Roanoke Valley.
She talked of retiring for several years, but kept coming back each fall. Her colleagues didn't believe her when she said this would be her final year, but she said it's for real this time.
"I've decided that 35 years is a good place to stop," she said. "It's been a long time, and I'd like to do some other things - like taking guitar lessons and learning to play golf."
Mallis is finishing her career as a first-grade teacher at Monterey Elementary in Northeast Roanoke - the place she first taught when she came to Roanoke in 1962. "I'm kind of closing it up where I began in Roanoke."
Her late husband, Alex, was once president of the Parent-Teacher Association at Monterey, and her first daughter went to school there.
"I requested to come back to Monterey because I thought it would be good to end it here," she said. "I really enjoy this school."
Mallis began her teaching career in Connecticut and taught in the Richmond area three years, while her husband was in dental school, before coming to Roanoke.
She has taught at Crystal Spring, Raleigh Court, Wasena and Westside elementary schools in Roanoke and Mountain View Elementary in Roanoke County.
She also taught at Roanoke's old Washington Heights Elementary, which was closed and razed several years ago.
During a career that has stretched over four decades, Mallis took off a year or two for the birth of each of her three children.
She prefers to teach kindergartners and first-graders because she finds them to be challenging and rewarding.
"When they come in, they don't have a whole lot of knowledge," Mallis said. "But when they come out, they're reading, writing, spelling and doing math."
She believes she's giving the children a foundation of knowledge and skills they can build on.
Teaching young children can be demanding and stressful because there are unexpected problems and crises almost daily, she said. Some children become ill or upset. Some need emotional support and comfort.
With changes in family lifestyles, teachers in early elementary grades have to be more than just teachers, she said. In many families, both parents work and spend less time with their children than did parents in prior generations.
"We [teachers] have to play every role imaginable," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I'm doing a lot of parenting. Some children have big needs."
William Lalik, Monterey's principal, said Mallis shows a special concern for her pupils.
"If she notices that a child has a need, she tries to find the help or resources that are needed," Lalik said. "The child might need glasses, clothes, academic assistance or something else, but she will try to find help."
Mallis said she has learned that a teacher must have patience and approach the job with a one-day-at-a-time attitude. "With younger children, you have to be flexible and able to move on if something unexpected happens."
Colleagues and friends say Mallis is always positive and upbeat.
"She has enthusiasm and energy," Lalik said. "She really enjoys what she's doing."
Mallis said schools have better equipment and more instructional materials now than when she started teaching.
"Back then, we had no overhead projectors, and maps were so old they were out of date," she said. "There were no computers or other technology."
Many teachers still spend some of their own money to buy supplies for their classrooms, she said. "The schools try to help us as much as they can, but they have only so much money."
One of the rewards of a long career is meeting former pupils who are now grown with their own children and grandchildren, she said.
"I bump into people often who I taught years ago and who remember me," she said. "Sometimes it throws you for a loop because you don't remember them."
Mallis picks up the newspaper some days and reads about some of her former first-graders getting engaged or married.
"I was in Lowe's a week ago and someone whom I had taught came up and spoke to me," she said.
Lalik has worked with Mallis for several years, first at Wasena Elementary and now at Monterey.
He said he hates to see her retire because of what she does for the children, but he's glad that she's comfortable with her decision and is looking forward to doing other things.
When Mallis is not in school, she usually can be found at her church on weekends or walking outside during the summer.
She has been the organist at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Huntington Boulevard for 25 years. She said she agreed to be the organist for a short period until church leaders found a replacement. "But they never found anyone else, and I'm still there."
Mallis said she likes to walk rather than go to a health club to stay physically fit. During the summer, she walks three miles a day.
She also hopes to do some traveling and to take up golf when she retires. "I've always wanted to learn to play, but I've never had the time," she said. "Now I will, and I'm going to do some of the things I've wanted to do."
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Janel Rhoda. Teacher Dorothy Mallis works withby CNBfirst-grader Logan Aker on reading comprehension. During this period
of the day, Mallis gives students one-on-one attention while the
rest of the class works on projects. Mallis is retiring at the end
of the school year. color.