Garrett Wilson

German teacher Tammy Lueck who was recently dubbed “Best All Around Teacher” by the 2024 senior class is retiring from Rolla High School. After 17 years at RHS and 28 total years in education, Lueck is, in her words, “rewiring” as she takes on her next adventure.
For Lueck, RHS’s German program quickly became a passion project.
“When I started teaching in 2007, there were only 47 students in the entire program. And there were only 18 students in German Club. And so I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve all worked hard. I’ve worked hard. My students have worked hard and we’ve grown…into a very respectable program with about 150 students a year and around 82 students a year in German Club,” Lueck said.
The German program at RHS has grown significantly due to Lueck’s influence. Building community is at the heart of the program’s success.
“Number one is doing my best to make the curriculum interesting. Number two, I worked hard to form relationships with students to form relationships with parents to make myself visible in the community [and]…be a positive influence on my students to make them want to come to class every day. I also worked hard at just simply providing them opportunities,” Lueck explained.
One of those opportunities is a trip to taste authentic food; each year, the RHS German Club travels to The Hub, a German restaurant near Rolla. This tradition began with Lueck’s first year as the German Club sponsor and the 18 German Club members.
French teacher Emily Mullen has had a firsthand view of Lueck’s teaching approach and expertise.
“So I first met Frau when I came here eight years ago. She was my buddy teacher that year, and I already had heard great things about her…like ‘she’s so amazing. She’s so wonderful.’ And then I got here, and she was equally wonderful…She’s so steady. She’s just a very calming presence and person,” Mullen said.
Teaching has provided Lueck with a legacy of relationships that she considers a reward of the work she does.
“The relationships I’ve made with the students. It’s the relationships I’ve made with their families. It’s having multiple generations of students…the older sibling, the middle sibling, the younger sibling, having the opportunity to connect with children of people I went to high school with. So for me, it’s all about the relationships that I formed with my students and their families,” Lueck expressed.
Mullen sees the fruit of Lueck’s intentionality.
“I think the thing that she has that is so special and important, especially for her students, is that she truly cares about her students as people more than the content…She is so empathetic and warm and caring. Those relationships that she has with students are so much deeper and more impactful and last beyond the classroom because she really genuinely cares about people,” Mullen said.
Although Lueck is retiring, she will continue working with students and families.
“I’m going to be working in the area of special education advocacy, working with parents and students with disabilities in making sure they’re receiving the services they deserve through public education,” Lueck said.
Lueck is transitioning into a new step of her life and taking on a different career but has been a beloved teacher and colleague.
“[RHS will lose] somebody who is always dedicated to doing what’s right for students, whether that’s in a learning capacity and, you know, making sure that we have integrity in our classrooms,” Mullen said. “I think those of us who have been lucky enough to be in proximity to her are definitely going to be feeling that hole missing whenever she is gone.”
As Lueck leaves her teaching position at RHS, she offers some final advice to teachers, students, and Rolla High School as a whole.
“This is just really a life piece of advice and it’s a piece of advice that my dad would have lived by is the golden rule,” Lueck said. “You know, you always lead by treating others the way that you would want them to treat you. And if you truly do that, you can never go wrong. Other people might take advantage of that situation, but that’s on them. And as long as you are leading with a pure heart and a genuine heart, and you are treating others in a way that you would expect them to treat you, you can’t go wrong.”