PRAIRIE GROVE -- Katie Young, who retired June 30 as Prairie Grove schools' choir teacher, says God has led her in every direction she's gone over the years.
Young, who grew up in Prairie Grove and graduated from Prairie Grove High, didn't know what she wanted to do when she started at the University of Arkansas. She was leaning toward education because both of her parents were in that field. But didn't know beyond that.
She met with her advisor who asked what she wanted to do.
"I like to sing and I like music," she told the advisor. His reply, "How about music education?" That sounded good to her, so that's what she did.
Young started her education career 27 years ago in Texas, where her husband, Joe Young, was attending seminary. She was teaching music and choir in a little school district like Prairie Grove. They then moved back to the Prairie Grove area and are living in Hogeye on land that belongs to her parents.
Choir Program Grows
Young has taught in Prairie Grove for 24 years and led choirs on the junior high and high school level and also taught music to fifth and sixth graders. She started part-time and has been the full-time choir director for about 18 years.
Over time, the choir program at Prairie Grove has grown under Young's leadership. She started with one junior high choir and one high school choir. The new high school building allowed her to expand to two junior high choirs and two high school choirs.
The high school choirs include a mainly freshmen choir and the audition-only Tiger Honor Choir for 10th-12th graders. The first honor choir had around 15 kids. This year, she had 72 members, which included 20 seniors and 20 boys.
"There's a lot of talent in Prairie Grove, even more talent than are in the choir," Young said. "That's because there's an abundance of things for kids to do at Prairie Grove."
What Others Say
One of Young's seniors, Ellyn Bailey, admits she was mad when she heard Young was retiring. That's because kids coming up would not get the chance to be with Young, Bailey said.
Bailey also admits that she cried when she heard the news.
Bailey, 18, started with Young in fifth grade and has been in choir since sixth grade.
"She works so hard. You can tell it's a genuine love. It's not a job," Bailey said.
Bailey was in honor choir the first period of the day. She said Young would walk in every morning and tell her students, "Has anyone told you today that you are beautiful people?"
It was a good way to start off the day, Bailey said, adding the honor choir was like a family to each other.
Prairie Grove Superintendent Reba Holmes worked with Young as the middle school principal for many years.
"There is no one kinder with a bigger heart than Katie Young," Holmes said. "She loved her kids in such a way that she allowed them to be themselves. But she also had high expectations for them to do a good job."
Holmes said most people know life hasn't been easy for Young but Young made it look easy. The Youngs' oldest son Michael has required full-time care since birth.
"Her face smiles and she makes the world a better place to be," Holmes said. "Katie goes out of bounds. She's so very, very special. We were lucky to have her."
Ron Bond, who served as Young's high school principal for 24 years, said Young will leave a big hole in the school district. Bond will return to the classroom this year at the junior high building.
"She impacted an awful lot of kids in the community," Bond said. "She really wanted to meet kids where they were. She worked so well with kids and not all teachers do. It goes back to, is the program there for the kids or are the kids there for the program. She had an outstanding program but it was definitely built to impact kids' lives."
Going Lots Of Places
Young's choirs have gone outside the school walls many times during her tenure. They sang at the state Capitol every Christmas, Northwest Arkansas Mall, Fayetteville Square, College of the Ozarks and Prairie Grove Health and Rehab Center. Her honor choir sang the National Anthem for all home basketball games. Her students earned spots in All-Region and All-State choirs.
"We would sing at the drop of a hat," Young said, noting the group would be eating somewhere while on a trip and then all stand up and sing in a cappella for everyone in the restaurant.
"It's been a wonderful thing to behold over the years," Young said. "We go a lot. I think that's part of building the memories and building the fun. I don't know if very many small schools do it as much."
Young said it's also been a joy to watch her students grow from having them from fifth grade through 12th grade. She's seen younger siblings come through her choir program and is on the second generation of some of her former students.
"I love the small town. It's my hometown. I love watching the families grow," Young said, adding she also appreciates the support from the community for the school and the choir program itself.
Young ends each year with the Choir Follies, a variety show with singing, dancing and fun costumes. The 2020 Follies would have been her 24th program but it was canceled because of covid-19. Before the program ends, she talks a little about each senior and what they've meant to her. For this year's seniors, she had a senior recognition time in front of the high school building last week.
"I've had them for eight years of their life and to see them grow and mature is a cool thing," she said.
Deciding To Retire
Young said her decision to retire is also God leading her in that direction, just as God led her in a music education career. She had already been thinking about retirement before the covid-19 pandemic impacted schools and the rest of the country. Now, it's unknown how choir will work in the fall as students and teachers will have restrictions due to the infectious virus.
"I've been doing this for 27 years and the work has kinda overwhelmed me," she said. "I'm having to take more care of Michael. The older I get the harder it is to care for him and the work too."
She said she believes God has worked on her all year so she could make that decision to set aside time for her family.
However, she said she's not at retirement age and will look for something that she can do that will work within Michael's schedule.
"The hard part about leaving is the kids," she said. "But kids age out every year and go do great things."