Teacher. Administrator. Debate coach. Advisor. Julie Harder is known for each of these titles and more from her time at Lincoln East. After 29 years, the beloved Harder has decided to retire.
Since the day that Harder stepped through East’s halls in the fall of 1996, she has made a lasting impact on her students, coworkers, and the overall East culture. Starting out as a teacher for 17 years, Harder has taught English 10, British Literature, American Literature, Creative Writing, reading classes, Oral Communications, and more. In addition to being a teacher, Harder has also been a debate coach, assistant speech coach, and tech director for theater.
One of her most significant contributions to East as a teacher is the creation of the Children’s Literature class. With a passionate vision of her own and the encouragement from her coworker, Dr. Anne Cognard, Harder proposed and launched the children’s literature class that is now implemented into all LPS high schools. An element of this class at East was the pen pal program that was established with second graders at Pyrtle Elementary School with monthly meet-ups.
“Creating that children’s literature class, that was really hard for me when I made the decision to leave the classroom, to leave that class, because I had such a vision for it, and I taught it for quite a few years so it had really become something that I loved,” Harder said. “The students had a really big voice with me; what we studied, how we did things, the projects that we did.”
Regardless of her love for teaching, Harder decided to switch to administration, which is what she has done for the past 12 years. As an administrator, Harder’s roles include setting up AP testing, serving as a sponsor and advisor for National Honors Society, working closely with the music department, and more. Her role as an administrator has allowed her to get to know students in other aspects of their lives.
Moreover, the impact that Harder has on East reaches beyond students as her coworkers witness the energy that she brings to work everyday.
“Ms. Harder is always honest and wants students to be successful,” Jennie Anderson, associate principal at East, said. “She has a passion for the music program at East and has worked closely with that department and is an advocate for their program.”
The love that Harder shows to East goes hand-in-hand with the love she feels in return. Working at the same place for 29 years might get boring for some people, but the connections Harder felt to East is what kept her here for so long.
“The first year that I was here, my dad died and I was away from everybody, and when I moved here, I didn’t know anybody,” Harder said. “East was my family that got me through that. I have always continued to feel such amazing support from everybody here, and as I’ve seen kids grow up and go on to live their own lives and do their own thing, what I think is pretty amazing is I’m working alongside some of my former students now. I just really feel like East High is a place that cares about people as a whole. East doesn’t just want to push people through and make it look good for everybody, we truly, genuinely, invest.”
Although her career at East is coming to a close, there is more to come for Harder.
“I just feel like it’s time for something else, kind of like when I moved from teaching to administration, I feel like there’s something else out there for me,” Harder said. “I’m young enough to have a second career, and I have traveling I want to do, and family I want to spend time with that doesn’t live here. They say the days are long and the years are short, and that’s true. So I want to use this time that I have in the next ten to fifteen years to just take advantage of all that.”
From teacher, debate coach, and theater tech director to administrator, National Honors Society sponsor, and working with the music department, Harder has seen it all. Although she will be physically gone, the impact that Harder has left on East will remain far longer than her time here.
