They're the heads of their schools, and to the students they're the tall leaders who walk down the hallways. By the end of the school year, at least six Utah County school principals will be moving on to other places, either the golf course, the motor home or another job.

Rosemarie Smith has been the principal of Amelia Earhart Elementary School in Provo since it opened 10 years ago. It's just the latest stint in her 37-year career that began as a special education teacher in the Jordan School District. In the beginning, she swore she would never be a teacher, but Smith said she fell into special education by accident and loved it.

Smith said she's unsure what she'll do with her free time after school ends later this month, but she's looking forward to working in her yard and training her dogs. She may teach college courses, and Provo School District Superintendent Randy Merrill already nominated her for a volunteer position in Orem.

After he leaves education, Mike Hicks is looking forward to vacationing with his wife across his home state of Idaho. Those roots got him into teaching in the first place.

"I had some great teachers when I was a kid back in high school who inspired me," Hicks said.

Hicks started teaching junior-high history and social studies in Salmon, Idaho, before he was a school administrator and principal. He teared up as he said he will miss the students the most, as he's cruising in his motor home.

"The kids are always the best part of this profession. They give you energy. They keep you young," Hicks said.

Larry Dean has worked for Alpine School District for 30 years, but he didn't always answer the phone with a "Dr. Dean," like he does now. In 1977, his first job in the district was as a school bus mechanic. When times got tough at his service station due to the oil embargo, Dean fell back on the skills he had learned in the Army and fixed buses. He worked as a mechanic for 10 years while he earned a bachelor's degree from BYU. Becoming a teacher felt like a natural fit.

"I always loved working with kids," Dean said.

Over the years, Dean taught second, fourth, fifth and sixth grades. He was even the computer specialist. He's been the principal at Forbes for 11 years, the school he attended as a child. Eventually, Dean earned a doctorate degree in education, graduating on his wife's birthday in 2004. After he retires, he plans to catch up on home projects until he goes stir crazy.

Clark Hansen's story is a lot like Dean's, except that when he started working for Alpine School District, he swept floors. Hansen worked for 10 years as a janitor before he graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1984 at the age of 32. The next year, he went from cleaning the chalkboards to using them at the same school.

"I was a custodian one year and taught fifth grade the next year," Hansen said.

Hansen said he's glad he went back to school to earn his degree, which he did in less than three years, because it has enriched his life, and he set an example for his children, who went to college. He's also been able to touch lives.

"The kids, that's my favorite thing. You can never predict what kids are going to do. They always surprise you. That's been the highlight of my career. Somehow I made a little bit of a difference in people's lives," Hansen said.

This Idaho boy jokingly said he became a mathematics teacher because he didn't want to farm. Brad Kendall said he liked interacting with the students and being able to coach sports, so even though he could have taken his math degree and moved, he decided to teach.

"My first idea wasn't to teach. It was to get a math degree and do something with that, but as I was going though my college courses, it was just really sterile," Kendall said. "I missed working with people."

Kendall loves his students and his staff. He said he enjoys being able to talk to them and see how they're all doing, but he's looking forward to golfing, flying and traveling.

"It's just been a good ride," Kendall said.

For Brent Taylor, the best part of his job as principal of a special-needs school is his students -- a common theme among retiring school principals.

"It's simplification, but I love the kids. The kids, they're all disabled, and so it's kind of different," Taylor said. "The kids love to be here at the school. They just sort of have this capacity to give unconditional love."

Taylor said his students love him even when he has to discipline them.

"They don't hold grudges," he said.

Taylor's career didn't begin as a teacher. He was a speech therapist, then he became a program director for a developmental center. He did it because he's enamored by how speech works.

"I was always just fascinated with the whole speech and communication paradigm," Taylor said.

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it