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Buckeye guidance counselor still loves job 40 years later

'They still need people who they share their heart with, and I feel like that’s my job'
Buckeye guidance counselor still loves job 40 years later
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BUCKEYE, AZ — ABC15 first introduced you to Buckeye Elementary School guidance counselor Sherry Saylor back in August, and her love for her job and students was contagious!

We decided to check back in now that the school year is over to see how things went at her K-8 school.

“Falcon pride is hard to hide!”

Something else that’s hard for Saylor to hide is her passion for her job - one that she’s had for 40 years!

Longtime Buckeye school counselor opens up about what's kept her on the job for 40 years

“I fell in love with the job almost immediately,” says Saylor about when she started in the 1985-1986 school year.

Since then, Buckeye has changed and grown exponentially, but Saylor says some things about the job will always stay the same.

“They still need people who they share their heart with, and I feel like that’s my job.”

But there are certainly challenges on the job.

“I think just meeting the needs of 1,030 kids! That’s how many kids we have here. But this job really is a team sport. You cannot do it by yourself. We have phenomenal teachers, administrators, social workers, but at the end of the day, you feel like, 'Have I seen everyone? Have I taken care of things?'”

When we spoke to Saylor in August, she was weighing a big decision: Retire at the end of the year or stay onboard, and the good news for Buckeye Elementary is that Ms. Saylor will be back again next year!

“I don’t want to back off the pedal at all. I want to keep going and as I said, slide into home, and I want the kids to be in the forefront. It’s all about them. My last year isn’t about me. It’s about them and just making sure their life is great here.”

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