On June 26, Principal Joanne Meehan put away the last of her pens, pencils and paper and quietly retired from McDowell Mountain Elementary School.

A great article was published in The Times, a fabulous assembly at the school and a few small get-togethers celebrated her retirement. However, Mrs. Meehan was never one to have the attention focused on her and that’s exactly how she ran her school…always focused on the students.

I met Joanne Meehan 10 years ago when my first child entered kindergarten. From the first day we walked on her campus, we felt welcomed. Her school was clean, well maintained and everywhere you looked, the students were celebrated on murals, bulletin boards and photos across the walls of the school.

Joanne Meehan ran a tight ship at McDowell Mountain Elementary and expected her teachers and students to excel.

However, she expected the same of herself and no job was beneath her…from directing parent traffic in the parking lot, handing out lunch cards, helping in classrooms, that not so fun job of discipline -- and she did it all with a smile on her face for over 30 years.

I have had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Meehan in many different capacities…parent, community member, PTO president and FHUSD Governing Board member.

She has been a great leader, mentor and friend and I would like to take the opportunity to say “thank you” for all of the energy, time, dedication, respect and love that she has put into our school district and, most importantly, our students.

Mrs. Meehan will be greatly missed at McDowell Mountain, but her retirement is well deserved and we all hope she has a “super great day…everyday!”