Teacher ends long career at Rehoboth Nursery School

Liz Whiteko worked with hundreds of children since she began teaching in 1996.

We’ve all had a teacher who left a lasting mark on our lives, and Liz Whiteko did just that for many children in the Mon Valley.

Whiteko recently had to say goodbye to Rehoboth Nursery School, where she had been a teacher since 1996. The school wasn’t just important for the children, but also for her, as she worked to mold every student who came to her.

“They created for me the most heartwarming, memorable, cherished memories anyone can possess,” Whiteko said, “and I take those with me for the remainder of my life. There is nothing that will ever come close to those feelings.”

Whiteko attended Seton Hill University to study child psychology and married her husband, Jeffrey, after she graduated. Later, she had two children, Angela and Jordan.

She waited for her son Jordan to be older to start looking for jobs, and eventually, one of the board members of the nursery school reached out to her regarding the opening. Whiteko started as an interim teacher and later went on to be full-time.

She worked at Rehoboth since then, and over the years, she’s seen many of the children she’s taught grow up in the surrounding community. Whiteko has watched the kids go into many different fields.

“There’s physician assistants, there’s pharmacists, there’s doctors, there’s teachers, they are all like, graduated,” she said. “The one that graduated this year, the (Belle Vernon Area) valedictorian. She started with me, and when she was standing there talking, I was like, to myself, ‘I taught her.’” Leaving Rehoboth hasn’t been an easy thing for Whiteko, but she reiterated that she will always cherish her time at the school.

She said the school helped her through difficult times in her life, and the children always brought her great happiness.

“When a person thinks, ‘Well, why would you be a preschool teacher?’ Well, watching a child write their name for the first time. And I did that,” she said. “I get goosebumps when I think about it, watching a child learn how to button or zip their own coat.

“These children, they came to me in September, very raw. And by the time May came, they were ready to go on. I gave them their wings, and they took off.”

Whiteko has become a notable face in the local community after teaching hundreds of children. When she goes out with family members, sometimes she will be recognized by her former students.

Along with great memories of the children, she also fondly thought of Karen Sellew and Megan Mines, who at one point were teacher aides with her.

“When we worked there together, I think it was about 10 to 18 years, we were considered, and not to sound blasphemous, but the Holy Trinity,” she said. “We had great chemistry together and success, and the program flourished immensely. So some of my fondest memories are with them and will always remain with them.”

Even though her time at Rehoboth is over, Whiteko hopes to continue working with kids and is frequently looking for opportunities to do so.

“I would like to find a story time, or maybe something where I can still kind of keep my toe in the door, so to speak, with children, because they complete me,” she said. “I’ve been looking at different YMCAs and looking at different libraries to see if they can make room for me.

“I do feel my heart’s desire is to find something for a few hours a week where I can still be amongst the most purest, joyous jewels of this world. I think that if I could just find just a little bit of time every week, that would complete me.”

Whiteko is also an artist who creates beautiful paintings, frequently of poppies, which are her favorite flower. Whiteko and her husband are also hoping to eventually sell their home to move to Florida.

One of the mementos she keeps is a photo collage of multiple students during one of the years she was teaching. Each picture includes a student holding a letter, and they spell out, “We love Rehoboth Nursery School.”

The picture frame also includes her grandson, Alex Bastedo, who recently graduated from high school. Whiteko also has a granddaughter, Aurora Bastedo, who is a soccer player at Belle Vernon Area High School.

Whiteko said she wants the families and children she worked with to know that she truly loved her students and will always remember her time with them.

“I want the community to know that I cherish them, and there’s no words for the experience I experienced there,” she said. “I can tell you words, but unless you’ve lived it. It’s really hard to explain how absolutely, incredibly wonderful it was.

“Thank you, students, for allowing me to ‘sow the seeds of your initial love of learning.’ Thank you to the hundreds upon hundreds of children (many who are adults now) whose families, year after year, throughout my span of 28 ½ years, sent your children to me to experience the unequivocal delight of teaching.”