Jean McHatton ‘68

I got my BA in Social Science in four years and completed my fifth year credential work immediately. I was offered a teaching job after student teaching, but continued going to school to finish work on my credential and pursue my MA in Early Childhood Education. My college courses, spanned from very easy to challenging. I loved my education classes. The science and math not so much.

I was very involved with my sorority, Delta Zeta and all their activities. My fondest memories involve the sorority’s activities, like Rush, Presents, and Spring Formal, Monday night dinners at the sorority house and the comradery of my sorority sisters. I run into some of my sorority sisters now and there is a bond that never disappears.

I attended football games, participated in Homecoming float development and 49er days. All of these made you feel more a part of the campus community.

My favorite hang-out on campus was the student union. All sororities and fraternities had tables in there. Other than that, I was in the library studying.

Dr. Mary Jo Lass was my favorite education professor. I don’t remember the class I had her for, but I do remember she truly inspired me to go into teaching. She taught us that every lesson we taught could be creatively developed, so that every student in the class is actively involved.

I do remember all Education professors were truly devoted to preparing us for our own classroom.

I was a Social Science major and a Home Economics minor, pursuing my multiple subject teaching credential. I got a great general education background, and more specialized knowledge in Sociology, which was a great background for dealing with people in the educational setting. In addition, a Home Economics minor, let me pursues my hobbies of sewing and cooking. CSULB has a wonderful education department now and back in the ‘60’s. I was very well prepared to be an elementary teacher, starting my career in Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District as a kindergarten teacher.

In addition, by using the job placement office at CSULB, I got a job as a teacher assistant in Long Beach Unified School District during my junior and senior years, that additionally prepared me for my teaching career.

I have been in the education field now for over fifty years, starting with the instructional aide positions during my college years. I taught for Norwalk-La Mirada USD for 21 years, spent 2 years in Paramount USD as an assistant principal, then fourteen years as a principal in the Whittier City School District, and finally in Whittier Union High School District as the Director of Curriculum and Instructional Materials.

I still stay very involved with the education community.

In semi-retirement, I have been the Director of Student Teaching for Whittier College since 2012. It is wonderful to work with education students at the end of the course work, when they are student teaching. I get to make contact with all the local school districts in order to place our students in the best placements with Master Teachers.

I also coach administrators getting their Tier II admin credential. This too, is a great job, working with young administrators in their first two years out of the classroom.

I am on the School Site Council for my grandson’s high School, Gahr, in the ABC Unified School District. I serve on the Cerritos College Foundation Board and the Pius/Matthias Academy Board (where I went to high school), and help the Band boosters at Gahr High School. I am the Read Day chair for Juarez Elementary School. In addition, I enjoy working on the Distinguished Young Women program of Artesia/Cerritos. I represent Whittier College on the Whittier Area School Administrators board (part of ACSA- Association of California School Administrators).

In my spare time, I love traveling with my family and friends…just did a Panama Canal cruise this spring and spent two weeks in Hawaii in July.