Years at Armijo will be treasured forever

It’s almost time to say goodbye to Ms. Lynne Herring who has been teaching at Armijo High School for the past 27 years.

Ms. Herring graduated from Azusa Pacific University (APU) with her Bachelor of Arts in Communicology (Communication + English) in 1984, and went on to get her Teaching Credential in English in 1985. She got that degree because, when she looked at the opportunities in Journalism and the pay related, she felt that teaching was a more viable career option, although she worked in other jobs along the way including copywriting catalogs and advertising sales. She started her teaching career in Southern California.

Over the years, she has taken classes at Pierce College, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, and Solano College. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Journalism and Mass Media, with a Public Relations Certificate from Clarion University online, completing the process in 2019.

Her main focus during the last 27 years has been The Armijo Signal. Maintaining it all those years is one of her biggest accomplishments.  Ms. Herring has a lot of wonderful memories while teaching here at Armijo. “I really enjoyed eating my lunch with a variety of teachers and I really enjoy finding out about former students who have gone on to become professional journalists or who remember me from years gone by,” she said.

There have been a few funny moments at Armijo, including when her class had computers before they were popular and students kept pulling off the keys. Another time in her early career at Armijo involved preparing the newspaper. “I was finishing up the newspaper (back when it was cut and paste on paper) late at night and the lights kept going off. I would roll a chair down the aisle to create some motion so that the lights would come back on, and then I had to collect the chairs before I left the building,” she said.

Last year she had kittens living under her portable and, with the help of Ms. Denise Monegato and Ms. Kaitlyn Hernandez, they were rescued and became the property of Ms. Jennifer Ramsey.

Ms. Herring has had over 4,000 students in her years at Armijo, and she has several memories of them. When she’s outside of school, shopping or running errands, she’s often approached by former students and asked if she still works at Armijo.

There have been many changes in technology that Ms. Herring has had to get used to. In the beginning it was all done on paper and research was limited. After all, Google wasn’t available until 1998 and YouTube didn’t become a thing until 2005. She has also been through so many changes in the school and the way that things were being done. There are many students and staff that she is grateful for getting to know and has made lifelong friends, who have retired but they still keep in touch. “I’ve been so proud of so many of my students, individuals who have conquered great challenges. I’ve had several students who have had me as a teacher and realize that their siblings or cousins (or even aunts and uncles) have had me in the past. That’s always a great realization.” she said. Some of her students such as Mr. Towner have even come back to Armijo.

Outside of school, Ms. Herring’s enjoys things like cooking and reading. She has never had a lot of time to do a lot of reading because she’s always been focused on getting things done for her classes and the newspaper but afterwards she’ll have a lot more time to enjoy the things she loves. After retirement, she is considering starting a new career after retiring. “I’ve done a lot here while I was a teacher (although The Armijo Signal is my pride and joy), but I have always recognized that the 27 years is just a step along the journey. I encourage people to invest their time wisely and create the memories along the way that will last forever ” she said.