After three decades of inspiring students to say ‘bonjour’ to new cultures, Elizabeth Caspari, the French teacher and head of the World Languages department, is bidding adieu to the school year with a legacy of passion and dedication.

“I come from a family of teachers,” Caspari said. “Both my parents were professors, so I grew up around teaching. Going into education came naturally.”

Caspari has worked in Clayton for 32 years.

“I think going into education became natural, but I didn’t head initially into French. I considered a lot of other things, but I loved the classes,” Caspari said. “When I was in college, I got to study abroad for a year, and I loved it.”

Caspari recalls people telling her to get an undergraduate degree, but she continued to study History and French and eventually earned her degree.

“I loved French, and I was interested in that,” Caspari said. 

Caspari believes that many teachers are motivated by a desire to improve classroom management and teaching methods. She explains that while they admire certain aspects of their education, they also see opportunities for change.

“There are things you love about certain teachers and certain parts of your education,” she said. “There are other things where you think if I were running that, I would do it differently. I was interested in that.”

Fellow French teacher Christine Darling has worked with Caspari for 12 years.

“My first impression of [Caspari] was [that she was] very professional, very caring about students [and] about faculty,” Darling said. 

Caspari’s former student had similar experiences in the years learning from and working with her.

“The lasting impression I have of her is just a really energetic, enthusiastic, positive person who, even though I’m sure we frustrated her all the time,” English teacher Sean Rochester said.

Rochester is a Clayton alumnus. Caspari taught and now works alongside him as a teacher in the building.

“We were like, ‘Yay, I can’t wait for French!’” Rochester said. “You know, there was a general happiness in the room, because she sort of [makes things seem] effortless.”

This impact lasted beyond Rochester’s time as a student of hers; she impacted him for years to come. 

“It was reassuring that one of my mentors was still walking the halls, and that if I ever did have an emergency or needed someone to talk to, she would be there for me,” Rochester said.

Caspari does not just know French, she has learned a lot about her students through teaching.

“I had Mr. Rochester in class, and he was a riot. He would have his hand up and ask what my objective was for teaching the lesson. Students who have a million questions and think they could do it better become teachers,” Caspari said. “If I had told that to Mr. Rochester in his sophomore year, he would have laughed me out of the room.” 

Caspari has been lighting up classrooms for decades, from Rochester’s sophomore class to junior Liam Schafer’s French IV class.

“She makes class very fun, kind of entertaining. Our class is a talkative group; she doesn’t mind that. She gives us a time and place to be ourselves,” Shafer said. 

Caspari has plans to relax during retirement, but she will always appreciate the environment of Clayton.

“I will miss the students and my colleagues. I love teenagers. I wouldn’t teach this age if I didn’t. I’ve always believed that Clayton teenagers are tomorrow’s leaders,” Caspari said.