Sunday, May 19, 2024
Two longtime Gatesville educators - Jeanne Cohagen and Pam Bone - were honored as Hornet Legends by the Gatesville Independent School District Board of Trustees for their dedication and service to local students.
The awards were announced during the June 19 meeting of the GISD school board. Cohagen died in 2017 so her relatives were present to receive a certificate in her honor.
Cohagen graduated from Gatesville High School in 1960 and started teaching in Mound in 1964. After working for Mound and the State School for Boys, Cohagen began teaching for GISD in 1975, where she taught until her retirement in 2014. She taught classes at the second, fifth and seventh grade levels.
"It was her time in seventh grade English, with partner teacher Pam Bone, that was most impactful on the students of GISD," wrote Superintendent Barrett Pollard. "In her retirement letter, Jeanne even stated, 'Seventh grade English has been my dream job since I was a student in Gatesville public schools. I loved teaching students to write and see their potential.'"
Former superintendent James Baize wrote in an evaluation, "Mrs. Cohagen maintains a good relationship with her students. She shows them that she has a genuine concern for them.
In her retirement letter, Cohagen wrote, "I have loved being a part of the GISD system. I will always be one of the Gatesville public school's greatest supporters."
Bone graduated from Gatesville High School in 1975 and received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Tarleton State University. From 1979 to 1981, she taught at Academy ISD. She joined GISD in 1981 as a seventh-grade reading teacher. In 1990, she teamed up with Cohagen to teach seventh grade language arts.
After serving as a librarian at GISD in 1995, she became principal at Gatesville Elementary in 1996. She retired as principal in 2019.
In her retirement letter, Bone wrote, "I count my 38 years with GISD as a true blessing. It has been an incredible ride filled with learning, laughter and compassion."
"Fortunately for us, Pam immediately came back the next year as a half-time reading interventionist at (Gatesville Intermediate) and is still there today," Pollard said. "I can honestly say Pam is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. She truly loves kids and cares about all her former students. She also cares deeply for all her current and past coworkers. Pam is very deserving of being a Hornet Legend."
Bone said she enjoyed her teaching partnership with Cohagen.
"When I first started teaching (at GISD) Jeanne was so elegant and well dressed," Bone said. "I found out she was just like me and made a lot of mistakes, but we'd fix them. We had a rough day and everything we thought would move the kids didn't work. Jeanne said, 'Hey, at least we're not shopping for bathing suits.'"
