Warren Central High School teacher Kathryn Duggins answers questions from sophomore students in geometry class Tuesday afternoon.(Melanie Duncan Thortis The Vicksburg Post)

[5/12/04]Next Friday, Kathryn Duggins will close the door to the classroom where she’s worked for 36 years.

It was the fall of 1968 when Duggins stepped into the room at the then fairly new Warren Central High School, and she’s been teaching at the same school and in the same room since.

But before that door is closed, years of materials, supplies and memorabilia will have to be moved.

She groans when thinking about it.

“It’s going to take an 18-wheeler to get everything out of here,” said Duggins, one of the teachers retiring from the Vicksburg Warren School District.

In her classroom in “A” building at the WCHS campus on Mississippi 27, students’ projects hang from the ceiling; math honor society trophies are showcased in a display at the back of the room; bulletin boards show math problems, and Warren Central news highlights and math posters nearly cover the wall.

“She explains stuff easier than most teachers, and if you need any help, she gives you the extra attention you need,” said Jessica Bobb, a 16-year-old sophomore.

And Steven Johnson, also 16, said Duggins has always helped him with questions he’s had about homework and grades.

“She’s got a lot of patience,” the sophomore said.

Duggins taught about a semester at a high school in Mer Rouge, La., before moving to Vicksburg. Her decision to become a math teacher was an easy one.

“I enjoy solving problems for the sheer joy of finding a solution,” she said. “As a child my father was a high school principal, and I used to run away to school before I was old enough to go.”

The equation fit.

Though Duggins, 61, will put the chalk down and erase the board at WCHS next Friday, she plans to continue her part-time position as an instructor at Hinds Community College.

Leaving high school, though, will give her time to spend with her husband, three children and eight grandchildren, working in her yard or traveling.

“I’ll do some of the things I haven’t had time to do,” she said. “I have stuff around the house to do; I have to clean out closets.”

A ceremony to honor all of those retiring from the 9,000-student district will be at 5 p.m. Thursday in the cafeteria at Vicksburg High School.