The two started in the city schools in 1990 and both share a still-bright passion for working with children and teens.
The teachers recently reflected back on their longevity and some of the sweeping changes they have witnessed in the evolution of public schools since that first year.
“I started when we still used chalk boards,” said Braun, whose entire career has been at Hamilton High School, his alma mater.
Braun also is teaching U.S. government and financial literacy but during his many years “I’ve taught most of the things we have under social studies at one time or another.”
Staying at the same school for more than 35 school years brings a lot of advantages, he said, not the least of which is institutional memory allowing him to compare more recent instructional trends to those tried in the past.
“I like a lot of the initiatives that are going on now in the district and here at the high school,” said Braun.
The school community and the city’s residents don’t have the connective bond prior to major societal changes such as the internet, which has sharpen the divides and, in some ways, has led to a more fragmented city population.
Braun recalls at different time.
He was in Hamilton high school’s marching band for the district’s homecoming parade, which began in Hamilton’s east side at what is now Garfield Middle School and ended across town at Hamilton High School, which opened in 1980 on the city’s west side.
“And when the marching band got here (high school) there were still parade units that hadn’t left Garfield yet. The parade was that long because the whole community was involved in it.”
“Now we’re trying to get back to where we have more involvement and we have some really good (community) initiatives that are starting to pay dividends,” he said.
But the biggest change during his career, said Braun, has been classroom technology centered around the revolution of internet-based learning replacing a text-book-centered model used through the 20th century and into the first years of the 21st century.
“Now there is so much stuff at the kids’ fingertips. There’s a lot of good that comes from that but there are also a lot of challenges that come with that too.”
At Hamilton’s Miami School in the Rossville Flats neighborhood, a block from the city’s Main Street, Sherrie Morrison looks back on similar trends and notes she is now in her 36th school year, which includes multiple stints teaching mathematics at various other schools in the district.
The Miami School is an alternative learning program for high school students and has been her classroom home since 2020.
Morrison echoed Braun in citing technology as the biggest change factor in her teaching career.
“I’m talking everything. We went from overhead projectors and chalk boards, then to dry erase boards and now we are using smart boards (digitally manipulated boards),” she said.
Career longevity means a big network of colleagues and others whom she can reach out to for assistance. The decades have also honed her passion for teaching.
“I’ve worked with a lot of great people … but one of the greatest advantages is that it’s still fun coming to work.”
A constant remains, despite decades of massive societal changes inside the classroom and out, Morrison said.
“Kids are still kids. And I still like the kids and they still want to learn. Every kid wants to succeed and they want to be successful.”
“And I love those ‘ah ha’ moments when they figure something out.”
Hamilton school veterans like Morrison, Braun and other long-time teachers are invaluable to the city schools, said Hamilton Superintendent Andrea Blevins.
We are profoundly grateful for Steve, Sherrie, and all of our veteran teachers who choose to stay with Hamilton Schools year after year,” said Blevins.
“Our veteran teachers serve as indispensable mentors and guides for newer staff.”
“They are not just employees; they are our district’s most valuable asset and a living testament to the high quality of education we offer. When teachers commit to a district for long periods of time, they are doing more than just teaching lessons; they are building a legacy of excellence,” she said.
“And out veteran staff have not only adapted to decades of changes in curriculum and technology, but they have also maintained a consistent, high-quality standard of instruction that profoundly benefits generations of students.”
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