Cooking classes will never be the same. Family and Consumer Education teacher Kara Landgraf will retire at the end of the 2024 school year. 

Landgraf will retire after 27 years of teaching, 20 in the Oshkosh Area School District. Landgraf started teaching in Minnesota in the Apple Valley school district; she taught middle school grades 6-8. 

“It was such a good place to get my feet on the ground as a teacher because there were so many veteran teachers that helped me so much.”

Before she leaves, she shared some thoughts on her career. 

“I will miss the people. I [also] always like the ‘school schedule.’”

However, she feels proud of her time at North, especially her time in her department.

“Nothing sticks out as the greatest accomplishment–I feel  that our department has grown and reached many many students which  makes me feel happy.”

Besides that, she has had many memorable moments, especially working in the kitchen.

“Oh boy–funny stories–wish I would have written them down–one time I did grab a dead mouse in a sink of dishwater–he was not a good swimmer.”

While she had many positive experiences teaching, she acknowledges the challenges to the career.

“The hardest part of being a teacher is reaching all of the students in the way I may have wanted–due to lack of time or other circumstances.  At times it was just difficult to keep up with the day-to-day work at school and managing home life.  Although I feel this was a great career for me to be a mom and wife.”

She has no specific plans for retirement, she wishes to travel and spend time with family while also volunteering. 

Langraf would like to leave students a short message of advice.

“Never stop learning. Be an advocate for yourself. Be wise in your decision-making by using your resources and questioning the information available to you. Value and recreate solid relationships.”