TCA Moments Blog

2026-27 is TCA's thirtieth year of educating students. Did you know that two current staff members have been with TCA for all 30 years? Miss Sherry Wilkewitz, TCA Central Elementary's Assistant Principal, is one of them. TCA Advancement recently talked with Miss Wilkewitz about the early days, what has stayed, and what has changed:

TCA Advancement: When did you start at TCA? 

Miss Wilkewitz: I was in the first wave of teachers hired in 1997. 

TCA Advancement: What distinct memories do you have of TCA in 1997?

Miss Wilkewitz: We had a dirt parking lot, a dirt playground... a lot of dirt. The campus was next to Liberty High School. It was just modulars. The classrooms were modulars, and the main office and PE were also in modulars. Eventually a building was added. 

TCA Advancement: What roles have you held over the past 30 years?

Miss Wilkewitz: I taught third grade for 21 years; 5 years at the original campus, 2 years at North, and the rest at Central. Then I moved to Assistant Principal. I am in my ninth year as an AP. I didn't think I would end up in Admin.

TCA Advancement: Was there someone who encouraged you in that direction?

Miss Wilkewitz: It’s not something I would have sought out on my own, but over the years, my supervisors have maybe recognized in me a strength in leadership and invited me to consider it. It was tough to leave 3rd grade, though. If you have read the book The Boys in the Boat, there's the description about everyone rowing and doing their job, and you get "in the swing"; on that third grade team, we were "in the swing."

TCA Advancement: What has changed and what has stayed the same over the years?

Miss Wilkewitz: In the early days we had the same Core Knowledge, Spalding phonograms, and quality literature as the foundation of the curriculum. In some areas, we have said, "Maybe we can do better." Math has changed. Grammar and writing have changed. We've made curriculum changes as needed. 

What was important then, and still is now: character focus. We did character lessons. Parents were deeply involved, as they are now. In those early years, because TCA was brand new, parents were more likely to know the specifics of how TCA is different. They knew it was small; they knew there were uniforms. It was different on purpose, and they wanted that. 

Today, our incoming parents may have more of a general knowledge along the lines of “I heard TCA is a good school.” They may or may not be as aware of some of the distinct things. But for the most part, parents are still wanting something different. The differences are also attractive to teachers. We have teachers from other districts who took a pay cut to come here because they didn’t want a tablet in every student's hand; our philosophy is important.

Here's what's amazing: the mission has never changed. I've looked up how often schools change their mission statement. It's every 5-10 years. We have never changed our mission statement, except to take out “young citizens,” (which was there in the beginning because we started with just elementary grades). We are still sitting in a quality, well-thought-out mission statement 30 years later. It still works. It still makes us who we are. That’s a great non-change. 

TCA Advancement: What moments with students have been encouraging to you lately? 

Miss Wilkewitz: Yesterday, I had lunch with a couple of 6th graders. The students are reaching out for relationship – the girls scheduled with me. We laughed, ate lunch, and played UNO. It was nice to spend time with these students who are almost at the point where we will send them off [to secondary]. Their confidence in approaching an administrator and engaging with questions and conversation is encouraging.

As an AP, I often talk with students when they have behavior issues or make poor choices. It's encouraging when students with whom I have had many hard conversations at a previous grade level begin to thrive. Changing behavior takes time and consistency. Because we are able to give the gift of time, we are seeing fewer behaviors with some of those students. Their behavior really has changed in response to the time and care invested.