Selah High School will bid goodbye to one of its most familiar faculty members this spring when longtime senior class advisor Michelle McCartney retires after more than 30 years.

The event management teacher, who also oversees the Grad Launch and Life Smart programs, will ride off into the sunset after the June 10 graduation ceremony in the SunDome. And while leaving behind her influential role after three decades is somewhat bittersweet, McCartney doesn’t plan to be a stranger. 

She has too many great memories to walk away for good.

“It’s been such an honor to work with these amazing kids as they decide what they’re going to do with their lives,” said McCartney, who has spent a total of 32½ years in the district. “To be the person who gets to coordinate graduation and help kids prepare for the future has been such a fun experience, and it’s going to be hard to not do that anymore. But I’m still going to keep planning fun things for kids in this community; it just won’t be every day.”

McCartney says her goal in retirement is to be “the best grandma on the planet” to her five grandchildren, two of whom live in Selah. The others live in South Carolina, and with her schedule opening up, she expects to have more time to visit them. But, for now, there’s no rush. She and her husband, Danny Vance, are just going to take things in stride. 

“Danny is still working, but we are definitely looking forward to having more free time,” she said.

Before McCartney can start enjoying retirement life, she still has some important business to wrap up at the high school. She just helped plan a successful senior prom in late April and she is coordinating a series of graduation-related events, such as the Parade of Seniors and the commencement ceremony. 

The Parade of Seniors — which was put on hold for the past couple of years due to the pandemic — gives the graduating seniors a chance to walk through the elementary schools and interact with their younger peers.

“It’s a very exciting time of year, and I love seeing the community celebrate all that our seniors have accomplished,” McCartney said. “We are also looking forward to being back in the SunDome for graduation after a couple years away. It’s going to be a really fun farewell ceremony. It has been great to see all the kids get involved.”

Once the end-of-year events have wrapped up, McCartney will hand over the senior activities planning to her colleague Shari Brink, a one-time student of hers. As one might expect, there are more than a few of her former students who are now playing important roles in the schools and the community at large.

“That’s one of the things that’s really special about Selah — so many people come back and are now making a difference,” said McCartney, a 1982 Selah High graduate who later earned her teaching degree from Central Washington University. “There are a lot of teachers and administrators in the district who grew up here and have come back because they truly care about this community. It means so much to see my former students giving back. All the best kids go to Selah.”

McCartney — whose husband and three children also attended Selah schools — points to her own desire to make a positive impact in her hometown. That’s what brought her back to Selah after starting her career in Sunnyside and East Valley, and she says that is what has kept her going for so many years. 

At the same time, McCartney knows she’s not alone.

“That’s why teachers stay in this business for so long — because you know the work you are doing matters,” she said. “I just love hearing from my former students who reach out to thank me and ask how I’m doing. To know that I helped them be successful means the world to me. That’s one of the biggest benefits of teaching in a small community: you get to keep in touch with the kids after they graduate.”

Just because McCartney won’t be roaming the halls of Selah High anymore doesn’t mean she won’t continue to be involved in making Selah a better place. For years, she has been one of the main drivers of the Adopt-A-Family program, bringing students from the high school and middle school together during the holiday season to provide food and gifts to families in need.

She believes in the value of community service work, and she wants to make sure programs like Adopt-A-Family continue after she’s gone.

“I’ve made a lot of great connections over the years and I still want to be involved,” McCartney said. “Programs like this help kids learn about gratitude and the importance of giving back. Selah is such a strong community, and everyone here supports one another. That’s what I love about it.”