HILLSBOROUGH: Two teachers say they’ll retire

By Andrew Corselli, Staff Writer
   A trio with more than 80 years of service to township schools will retire as of July 1.
   They are Karin Benton, an English teacher at the high school; Brenda Linton, an ASI Literacy teacher at Auten Road Intermediate School; and Donna Santonastaso, a 10-month secretary at Auten Road.
   ”I guess I wanted to try some new things in my life, such as playing the cello and taking Italian and golf lessons, and volunteering for organizations I believe in. I knew with the amount of time required to teach, I couldn’t handle the new challenges while I was working,” said Ms. Benton.
   She has been the high school’s affirmative action officer since 1987 in addition to the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club advisor, she wrote in an e-mail.
   Ms. Benton has taught “almost every grade and level of English” in her 32 ½ years as a teacher, including about seven years in Columbia, Md. She also is the English Department resource teacher at the high school, has taught SAT prep and journalism, and was the yearbook advisor for 15 years. Ms. Benton has commuted from Easton, Pa., since she began at Hillsborough on Sept. 1, 1986.
   ”When I started, I was only going to stay at HHS for a year and then find a school closer to home,” she said in the e-mail. “However, I’ve always loved the HHS English program and the department. I felt it was worth the drive to work here.”Ms. Linton, who started in the district on Feb. 9, 1981, has taught in the Gifted and Talented Program at the middle school, Woods Road, Triangle, Hillsborough Elementary and Sunnymead; been a storyteller for Kindergarteners through second graders at Woods Road and Hillsborough Elementary; an ASI Literacy teacher for grades one through five at Woodfern, Hillsborough Elementary and Auten Road; and an ASI Literacy teacher for grades five and six at Auten Road.
   ”I will miss the students,” she said in an e-mail. “I hope I was able to share with them my love of learning, reading and writing in particular, and a vision of themselves as life-long learners. I also will miss working in such a stimulating, collegial environment of professionals.”
   Ms. Linton said she will spend as much time with her family “as humanly possible,” travel and share her educational experience and knowledge to help train teachers in Namibia, Africa.
   Ms. Santonastaso began working in the township on Aug. 1, 1983, and declined comment for this story.