Florence DeBard has spent the last 36 years doing what she loves: teaching. As any of her students will tell you, DeBard is an institution in Edina High School. She’s taught freshmen in the immersion program along with sophomore grade-level French for 23 years at EHS. According to DeBard, it’s the perfect age group for teachers: “I love teaching these grades because they’re at the point where I can really be influential and have a big impact, but they’ve matured enough to be respectful,” she said.

DeBard hasn’t always taught at EHS—or in the U.S., for that matter. Though she was born in France, she began her career as a boarding school teacher in London teaching French to elementary and middle school kids. “It certainly shaped my teaching style,” she said. “But it wasn’t my calling.”

After 13 years in London, she ventured to America after winning a ticket for the Queen Elizabeth II boat from England to New York. “I debated moving for a while, but I was waiting for a sign. What better thing than a royal boat?” she said. Once she arrived, she moved to Minneapolis and enrolled in college to get her degree in education. “They had this program called [the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition] for language immersion, and I loved the idea,” DeBard said. “So I got a specialization in that, and when I left, [Valley View Middle School] was looking for teachers to do French at the freshman level. Now I’m here.” 

DeBard may be retiring from her position, but she’s not done teaching. “I’m going to be an on-call substitute for Normandale [Elementary],” she said. DeBard explained that being a substitute alleviates stress from full-time teaching while allowing her to stick with her passion. “I’m going full circle,” she said.

For the rest of EHS, she has one last parting message: patience. “Everyone needs patience for each other, especially in school,” DeBard said. “Teachers should have patience with all their students, even when it’s hard. Students, remember that your teachers are people too. We’re all here to help each other.”

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 18, 2023.