By Ed Pierce
Growing up as a military dependent, David Langway moved more than he would have liked to, frequently changed schools, and his father would have to leave to go on deployments. While it could be stressful at times, it also taught him to be resilient, adapt to new situations and learn to solve problems.
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| David Langway of Windham is a U.S. Army veteran who is serving as a lunch teacher at Windham Primary School. Langway works with designated Third Grade classes at WPS though lunch and recess to give teachers a break. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
His duties at the school involve oversight of designated Third Grade classes through lunch and recess, giving classroom teachers a chance to take a break and eat their own lunches.
“I take great joy out of helping the children of this community. I've seen children grow from second and third graders into high school students,” Langway said. ‘’’I believe one of the biggest challenges is trying to get the kids into a school ‘rhythm’ for the school year.
One of his fondest memories of working at Windham Primary School came last year when he says he watched two of his students get ready to set out on an adventure that they were trying to understand and what Langway says might be tucked away in their memories for the rest of their lives.
“Both of their fathers are in the military, and they were moving to Germany over the past summer,” he said. “I spoke to them for quite a long time and throughout the school year of what they might experience there.”
In doing that, Langway was passing to the students some of his own life experiences.
“I grew up in the military and my father had been stationed in Germany a number of times,” he said. “So, like them, I experienced a culture that has been around for centuries. My father retired in the late 1970s, so I graduated from high school in Indiana. It was my senior year, and my earlier high school years were spent in a military high school in Nuremburg, Germany.”
Upon graduation from school, Langway joined the U.S. Army and spent much of his adult life as a soldier.
“I believed that was the best way to serve this country,” he said. “After leaving the military, I later earned a degree in Legal Studies.”
He moved to Maine and has raised a family with his wife here.
“I volunteer as the Building Manager at the Windham Veterans Center, and I've held that position for seven years,” Langway said. “I was told about and encouraged by my family to look into the job at Windham Primary School to give me something to occupy my time.”
Dr. Kyle Rhoads, WPS Principal, believes that Langway is making a difference daily in his work with the students.
“David's care and commitment to the children of Windham shines through when he plays football with them, deejays a school event, or gives them a pat on the back or a friendly smile in the cafeteria,” Rhoads said. “We appreciate his dedication to Windham Primary School.”
Langway says he’s not sure what the public would think about the work he does with WPS students.
“I also coach Little League baseball and youth football here in Windham,” he said. “So, working at the school helps me to know and understand some of the struggles the kids might have. It's also an opportunity to get to know their parents.”
A meaningful lesson that Langway learned as a military dependent and then as a soldier serving in the military is that each new day could be an opportunity to learn something new. He tries to remember that in his work at Windham Primary School.
“One of the most important things that always amuses me is that most years I learn something from the kids,” he said. “It's also quite fulfilling to run into the kids a couple of years later, and you're amazed by the things they remember from the primary school. At my age and growing nearer to total retirement, there is always something memorable to think about in this job.” <
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