Every school morning for the last 18 years, Anna Valerius has stood in the doorway of Pace Academy’s Lower School to welcome each student by name and shake each little hand.
“I figured out I’ve had well over a million handshakes,” said Valerius with a laugh. “It’s the way we start the day, with my saying ‘welcome home’ at the front door of the school. Even when the seniors come over from the upper school, I’ll open my arms to give them a hug, but they say, ‘Shake our hands first, Mrs. V.’ ”
In a few weeks, Valerius is retiring from her post at the Buckhead independent school that began 31 years ago. She began her career in education years ago as a volunteer tutor with the Junior League, then as an assistant teacher at Jackson Elementary and a lead first-grade position at Sarah Smith. All the while, friends at Pace kept urging her to join the school on West Paces Ferry Road.
“There was a first-grade opening, and when they called me, I went,” recalled Valerius. “I taught first grade for 11 years then was put in charge of the Learning Lab. Then one year, when the administration changed two weeks before school started, I was asked to fill in as the head of the lower school. I did it, expecting to be back in the classroom within a year. But as it turns out, it’s been 18.”
During her time overseeing the 372-student lower school, Valerius has worked under four headmasters and established two Pace traditions.
“I think my legacy is first the character education program that I started,” she said. “Then there’s the one thing people always tear up about, and that’s the lower-school holiday program. I started it about 23 years ago to tell the story of Hanukkah and the Nativity with first-grade students as the main characters. At the end of each program, we ask the fifth graders to stand behind the character they played when they were in first grade. Then I ask the graduating seniors to stand behind them. It’s just amazing to see, and it has become part of the fabric of Pace.”
The closely-woven fabric that is Pace has kept Valerius on the job for so long. “We are family, and that’s not just a slogan,” she said. “The teachers, students, parents and the children, especially, all work together with the same value, vision and mission.”
But as she’s explained to her pupils, “You work hard all day and get recess; I’m ready for recess and a different chapter to begin.” Her plans include traveling - and not having to squeeze in trips during the summer months - and spending more time with her two grandsons.
“I’m excited about the possibilities,” said Valerius, who lives with her husband in Vinings. “I want to take a gourmet cooking course. I love the beach. But the thing I will miss most is my 30 minutes at the front door, with children telling me, ‘Look, Mrs. V., I lost a tooth last night,’ or ‘Do you like my new shoes?’ I will miss their love and enthusiasm, no question.”
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