Dr. Lorie Hackett officially retired as Whitehall-Coplay School District superintendent June 30, after five years as superintendent and 32 years with the district.

Hackett said she is looking forward to spending more time with family and friends and she will visit her youngest son in Honolulu once travel restrictions ease.

She said the administrative team held a farewell luncheon for her retirement, since Hackett asked them to keep her retirement gathering small.

When the district organized a farewell drive-thru celebration April 30, Hackett was definitely surprised. She said Christopher Schiffert, assistant superintendent, told her to come with him for a drive. When they began driving around campus, Hackett was surprised to see children and staff lining the campus, cheering and waving, holding signs they had created.

“It was totally unexpected and really appreciated,” Hackett said.

The many staff and administrators Hackett worked closely with over the years are sad to see her go.

“Dr. Hackett worked tirelessly throughout her career to create a positive, engaging and student-focused environment within the Whitehall-Coplay School District. Her compassion, dedication and leadership will be sorely missed,” Whitehall High School Principal Nate Davidson said.

“It was a privilege knowing and working with Lorie,” said Teri Miller, principal of Zephyr Elementary School. “She guided the entire district through the pandemic. I can’t imagine the sleepless nights she must have endured. We made it through, and I wish her nothing but the best of wishes in her retirement.”

“Dr. Hackett focused on building strong relationships with all stakeholders,” said Steckel Elementary School Principal Cora Snyder. “Her commitment to the community and district is unmatched.”

The new superintendent, Dr. Robert Steckel, called Hackett “a tremendous help” to him during the transition period.

While she was growing up, Hackett always enjoyed being around children and spent summers as a camp counselor and lifeguard near her home in Morristown, N.Y. Both of her parents were high school teachers.

Hackett said she was always around children in some capacity, whether it was doing activities with them during the summer or helping with after-school programs.

However, when Hackett started college, the education field was not in her sights. Instead, she chose to major in German and economics at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

While Hackett was attending college, she lived in Europe for a year, since her career goal was to work in international banking or finance. Hackett discovered she didn’t like big-city living and knew that’s where many of the jobs would be located.

After graduating from SLU in 1984 and moving to Pennsylvania, she began working toward her master’s degree in elementary education at Lehigh University.

Shortly after earning her degree, Hackett got her first teaching job in August 1988 at Steckel Elementary. She spent the next eight years teaching second grade before moving to an administrative role at Gockley Elementary School.

According to Hackett, the best part of teaching was developing creative lesson plans that sparked an interest in her students and watching as their reading and writing skills progressed.

During her time as assistant principal at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, Hackett looked forward to working with students and their families to ensure the students were successful and able to overcome academic, social and emotional challenges. She enjoyed being able to support the staff to help them “deliver quality instruction” to the students.

Hackett’s favorite part of her time as superintendent was watching the kindergarten students begin their journey at WCSD, especially after the district implemented full-day kindergarten.

Hackett said the first day of kindergarten is special to her because she knows “[students] will be given not only excellent educational and extracurricular opportunities throughout their 13 years in the district, but also nurturing and support they may need throughout their years [from] the caring, dedicated and intelligently creative staff.”

Hackett’s last year as superintendent was met with unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She knew the students were experiencing hardships as well. But Hackett feels the difficulties they encountered could be to their benefit in the long run.

“Our students are resilient and adaptable as witnessed over the last year. This experience - while difficult at the time - I believe will serve our students well, as they realize they can succeed and overcome challenges they are faced with,” Hackett said.

After spending so many years at WCSD, the most difficult part of retiring was saying goodbye to the people Hackett had formed strong connections with throughout the years.

“Above all, I have valued all of the relationships I have developed with so many colleagues, parents, students and community members,” Hackett said. “I have always felt our district is unique in the fact that we truly embrace partnerships, relationships, honesty and integrity. I will miss working with everyone on a daily basis.

“Whitehall always felt like a family. I think it’s a positive place to work, and I wish everybody the best,” she said.