Farewell to an EWHS Favorite

Kathy Ludgate does not like the word “retirement.” And even though she will be leaving Edmonds Woodway and the teaching profession at the end of this school year, she prefers to think of it as moving on to the next phase in her life.

“I wanted to go out vibrant and alive, not tired,” she said, laughing. “That’s why I’ve always hated the word ‘retirement,’ because it has ‘tire’ in the middle. I like to think I’m graduating on to something new.”

Ludgate has been a staple, and a student favorite, at for the past 15 years, where she has taught history and been the coordinator for the International Baccalaureate program. Aside from EWHS, she has taught in various schools both public and private, and even had the opportunity to teach in Bangkok, Thailand for three years. Ludgate’s career extends back to 1968 when, fresh out of college, she started teaching at a middle school in Tacoma.

“When I first started I hated it,” the history buff and mother of two revealed. She went home to Spokane on a break and told her mother that she was going to quit and become an airline stewardess. Her mother was not pleased, and suggested her daughter give teaching another chance. As it turns out, mother knows best. Instead of taking to the skies, Ludgate ended up returning to the classroom and finding her passion.

“When I went back the kids didn’t seem as bad," Ludgate said. "I realized then that you can love and be passionate about your subject, but you have to be as wild and passionate about your students as well.”

Ludgate took that passion and worked to make her classes as interesting and fun as possible. Thanks to her grandfather, Ludgate is drawn to the storytelling aspect of studying the past. Her grandparents lived on a ranch and her grandfather used to regale her with stories about farm life when she was a child. In high school she found herself drawn to history, but felt many taught it in a tedious way: All memorization, dates and names. When she entered the profession, she realized that many of her own students felt the same way she had.

“Kids would come in with that same attitude towards history,” Ludgate recalled. “For many of them, it was their least favorite subject. Me being kind of a devious person, I thought I would trick them into liking it!”

And trick them she did. By using active participation and simulations (reenacting famous battles, bringing historical leaders to life), Ludgate got her students engaged and excited about the subject she loved so much.

Teaching history in the IB program allowed Ludgate to thoroughly delve into Latin American history, her favorite topic. She has been to Cuba, legally, and the guest room of her house is decorated with artwork brought back from the trip. She also has a Frida Kahlo kitchen, and a tattoo on her left ankle bearing the word “Che” in reference to the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, one of her heroes.

Ludgate teared up several times as she talked about past classes and her love for teaching. She contends that although she was in front of the classroom, her students taught her just as much as she taught them. At a special party given in her honor this past week, she left her former students with three wishes. 

“The first day of school is the most magical day of the year—students are excited to see their friends and catch up, but I think if they truly admitted it, they are excited about the start of the academic year as well,” she explained. “I hope they can keep that magic, that curiosity, that hope open that they are going to keep learning something new all throughout life.”

The other two wishes?

“I hope students choose a career they love," Ludgate said. "My third wish was that they would find someone special to share their life with.” Again, she teared up. Ludgate has been married to the same man for 40 years, and being able to spend more time together is part of the reason why she is stepping down.  

Stepping down, but definitely not slowing down. A notorious pranskter, Ludgate has pulled tricks on staff and students alike, and warns that the best is yet to come. Upon retirement she plans on joining the Crochet Liberation Front, a group with intentions to bring more awareness and appreciation to the art of crochet. Keep all eyes open, because June 11 is Yarn Bombing Day, and Ludgate and her crew have some plans they are concocting…and that’s all she would reveal.

Aside from crochet, Ludgate plans to travel more, continue pursuing history and potentially become an IB Examiner—someone who comes in at the end of the year to help conduct the final exams for seniors in the program. Ludgate will leave fond memories and big shoes to fill. The torch of IB Coordinator is being passed along to another student favorite, David Quinn.

“I always thought too that you should retire at the point when no one wants you to,” Ludgate explained with a smile, “because people will always remember you at your very best before you start to lose it.” She grew serious for a moment. “I have to say that I truly cannot think of another career I would have chosen besides teaching. You remember all the faces of all your students, but it is always the faces from your first year and your last year that really stand out.”