Педагог Карол Скарбро вернулась в школу Холлидейсбург в качестве учителя специальной педагогики

Hollidaysburg teacher Carol Scarbro shares love of learning with students Monday Spotlight Trending The path to becoming a teacher was never clear for Hollidaysburg resident Carol Scarbro. Until she was required to student teach for a college elective, using the elementary teacher's angles lesson, she crafted aerodynamic paper planes with two disinterested students. She was then kicked out of the classroom for flying the planes with the students, but the teacher sent Scarbro a thank you letter one week later, as those two students passed their first tests in that class. Scarbro's college advisor said she has a gift for teaching because she taught students to want to learn. "And that is what I strive to do every day," Scarbro said with tears in her eyes. "Because as a teacher, if you can teach a kid to want to learn, nobody can stop them." Since then, she has taught in five different states throughout her career and most recently substitute taught at Hollidaysburg Area School District for more than 20 years. She recently received her special education certification through the IU18 and is now returning to the district as a full-time special education teacher. In her free time, she teaches free essential oil classes at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, fundraises for local nonprofit Anna's Bananas and sells Mary Kay Cosmetics products. Whether she's teaching child or adult learners, she said it's about the learning process. "When the lightbulb goes on, that's a gift from God," she said. Westward roots Growing up in the west, Scarbro's adoptive parents were both teachers; her father studied astronomy and worked with Colorado Springs' planetarium while her mother taught elementary kids before quitting to care for Scarbro and her brother. "So something I was never going to become was a teacher," she said. Every birthday and Christmas, Scarbro's great-aunt Francie gave her a gift certificate to their local bookstore, compelling Scarbro to invest in book collections such as "Little House" and "The Oz" series. Those certificates gave Scarbro her love of reading, she said, leading her to check out stacks of books at her grandma's local library in Spearfish, South Dakota, as a kid. "That really established my love of the library," she said. She attended and graduated from Wasson High School in Colorado Springs before enrolling at Adams State College in Alamosa. She changed her major five times in four years before graduating, finishing with 199.5 semester hours. Starting as a photojournalism major, she graduated with majors in English, art and education, along with minors in journalism and photography -- and minors and concentrations in "anything but math," she said with a laugh. While earning her bachelor's degree, she hosted her own radio show at Adams State's KASF alternative radio for college credit, where she played many different kinds of songs on the air. Teaching and learning She took her first English teaching job in Texas, just 30 minutes north of the Mexican border. There, she said she was the only white, single female in town, and it was a classroom rule that all students were required to speak English. "It was very interesting and probably the best experience I ever had," she said. "Everybody should be a minority once in their life to understand what that's like." However, she said her salary was too low for the cost of living, so she taught eighth grade English Language Arts at Cunningham Middle School in Galena Park, near Houston, while implementing cooperative learning and assertive discipline techniques into classrooms. She's also a nationally certified assertive discipline trainer, preferring to reward students instead of relying on punitive consequences, and was featured on Kirk Cameron's television segment about Sharon Scott's peer pressure reversal method. In 1992, Carol married Tom Scarbro, who flew helicopters for the Army, so they moved to Alabama while she obtained her Master of Arts in educational leadership and administration from Troy University in Dothan. She became an assistant principal at East Gate Middle School, part of Ozark City Schools in Alabama, before moving to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she taught English at South View High School and was the assistant varsity coach for three girls sports. While living in North Carolina, she gave birth to their first son, Drew, in 1998. She quit her teaching job to care for Drew while her husband was coordinating troops in Wilmington. About two years later, Tom pulled out of the military, and they decided to look for a new hometown. "So, I told him it needed to have mountains, seasons, north of the Mason-Dixon (line) because 13 named storms in 11 years was way too many," she said. "I'm not a big hurricane fan," she added. "Give me a good blizzard any day." Hollidaysburg helper The Scarbros were transplanted to central Pennsylvania after Tom secured a safety director position at General Cable. They also welcomed their second child, Jared, in 2002. While Tom eventually switched to flying helicopters for the city, Scarbro started as a substitute teacher for Hollidaysburg Area School District and sold Mary Kay makeup while caring for her two sons. She said these jobs gave her the flexibility to take her sons to sports practices while her husband worked. "I love the philosophy: God first, family second, career third," she said. For more than 20 years, Scarbro continued to substitute teach at the district, covering day-to-day spots to long-term substitute positions, as well as working with homebound students and most recently Adelphoi students. "She goes out to homes and makes a difficult situation more manageable," Hollidaysburg Area assistant principal Kevin McCloskey said. McCloskey has worked within the district for over 10 years, so he's watched Scarbro develop relationships with students and push them toward success. Meanwhile, she also served as president of the Friends of the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library from 2026 until this spring, fundraising close to $180,000 for the facility. Currently, she is a member of Anna's Bananas, a fundraising team dedicated to raising funds and awareness for autism. She is also a consultant/educator for doTERRA International LLC, an essential oil company. She teaches free essential oil classes at the library once a week, educating users about proper oil use, along with classes at HASD during their wellness days. Scarbro's gift Kids in out-of-school circumstances gave Scarbro many special education requirements, so when she eventually applied for the certification through Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18, she was able to complete the four-year program in one year. The 2026-27 school year kicks off Scarbro's new role as a special education teacher for HASD, where she'll provide learning support for 10th grade English and biology. McCloskey said the district is thrilled to bring Scarbro back this year as a full-time teacher. "We're super excited when you see somebody who is extremely strong, dedicated and committed, and she took it upon herself to get her credentials and certifications," he said. Longtime friend Andrea Paul remembered when Scarbro told her over lunch a few months ago that she secured the special education position for Hollidaysburg Area School District. "I said, 'Teaching was your calling,' and she said, 'Yes, it was,'" Paul said. "And she (Scarbro) was crying; she was so happy she was able to use her talents to inspire children." Paul said she saw a different side of Scarbro that day, as she realized how passionate Scarbro is about teaching. With many years of teaching experience under her belt, Scarbro said that aspiring teachers shouldn't always be concerned with a student's final product. "If you're going to be a teacher, love them where they're at," she said. "They're going to be a different kid every day." Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.