APEX - After 33 years in education, Salem Elementary School principal Savon Willard retired and spent her last day at Salem on Sept. 30.

Her childhood was spent in Wake County schools.

The Broughton High School graduate taught in Virginia before returning to Wake in 1991. She finished a graduate degree and became an administrator.

She worked at Morrisville Elementary in its first year, served as assistant principal of Olive Chapel, helped open Partnership Elementary as a principal and, for her final act, opened Salem Elementary in Apex ten years ago.

She is moving to Greensboro, where her husband has a job. Correspondent Anne Woodman caught up with Willard last week to talk about her years in education.

Q: Over the past 33 years, what has changed about education and what has stayed the same? The thing that has changed the most is parent involvement. It has been necessary; our resources are so thinly spread out, and we need the help of everyone in the community. I started in 1976; back then, we thought we had everything we needed. But we didn't realize that the support of our community would be such an asset. On the negative side, there are some people in our community who think they know what's best for the school because they went to school. It's a double-edged sword at times. The part that has stayed the same is that it's always just been about teaching kids.

Q: The Salem Elementary motto is doing "whatever it takes to honor and educate." How has the motto affected your life? When we opened Salem, the parents said their biggest goal was that their children enjoy school. We have a diverse group of students here; students from different cultures and backgrounds. We wanted to honor the students; where they come from and where they are.

I believe we can do anything, but we can't do everything. We need to be specific. Every day for the past ten years, I have said the motto as part of the morning announcements after the Pledge of Allegiance.

Q: What has been the best part of your job? Teaching. Not only the kids, but the parents. I want to help people learn something.

Q: What is the most challenging part of your job? It can be difficult dealing with the way some parents deal with their children. Parents have changed a lot. In the past, if a teacher called home, the parent was on [the teacher's] side. Now, the first thing out of a parent's mouth is an excuse.

I want kids to get in trouble when they are young, because I want kids to think that trouble is a bad place to be. Then, maybe they will avoid trouble when they're older.

We don't need to make excuses for them; let them accept the responsibility for the choices they have made.

Q: How do you measure the success of a school? You can feel it when you walk in the building: the feeling that you are welcome there. Our staff is so welcoming; people tell me all the time, 'you have the most inviting staff.' Salem is a great school, and I will miss it.

Q: Which career success are you most proud of? I am most proud of nurturing and helping other teachers to become teacher leaders and administrators. I've had so many interns--all have gone on to find jobs.

That, to me, is most rewarding; to pay it forward. Growing the next group -- that is the most important work I've done.

Q: Do you have any parting words for the parents, staff and students at Salem? Remember to keep things in perspective. We live in one of the best countries in the world, in one of the best towns, best communities and have the best school. Don't get bogged down in the day-to-day. We need to understand how lucky we are.