Aucker’s homecoming is more than child’s play

Milton Alumni Ms. Kelly Aucker joined the high school faculty as the new Early Childhood Education teacher this summer.

Ms. Aucker said that she graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in Early Child Care. After college, she said she became a preschool teacher at Danville Child Development, working there for 23 years before returning to her alma mater.

According to Ms. Aucker, she officially began her new job here on Aug 11. She said that she loves Milton and was happy to return to her community.

“It’s my home, so why not return?” she said. She added that she still attends all high school sporting events. She participated in field hockey and track and field while in high school and was even inducted into Milton’s Track and Field Hall of Fame for discus and shotput.

Ms. Aucker said that a normal day in her classroom is a lot of learning about the philosophy of early childcare and added that she is still learning how teach her class best.

She said that her favorite part of teaching in the high school is working with students of a different age group.

Ms. Aucker said that her transition from working with younger students to older students has been tough, but exciting. She said that there is so much she has to learn about teaching a new age group, but older and younger students actually are very similar.

“They are really just the same, but in bigger bodies,” she said. She added that she worked with younger students for most of her life.

While admitting she has a lot to learn, Ms. Aucker said that she plans to use her many years of experience to help her students learn the ins and outs of childcare.

Ms. Aucker added that she wants to be a positive role model that students can look up to and strives to be there for all students.

Outside of school, Ms. Aucker said that she loves watching and going to Penn State football games as well as shopping at TJ Maxx and Target. She added that she has lived in Milton all of her life and her whole family are Milton graduates.

Junior Savannah Nixon has taken Early Childhood Education classes since she was a freshman. She said that she plans to major in Early Childhood Education for the elementary level in college. She added that she had the opportunity to be taught by Ms. Amanda Smith, who is now leading the school’s Diversified Occupations program, prior to Ms. Aucker.

Savannah said that she has really appreciated the welcoming environment Ms. Aucker created for the class. She said that the transition from Ms. Smith to Ms. Aucker has been difficult at times because she misses her former teacher. She added that Ms. Aucker has also given less work and that the class is overall less stressful since Ms. Aucker took over.

“Having a job after school where I work until late at night and then having to come home and do a lot of homework is stressful, but with Mrs. Aucker, we have enough time usually to finish things in class,” she said.