Catasauqua Area School District said goodbye to a number of employees who retired at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

David Linton, a sixth-grade science teacher at Catasauqua Middle School, reported he and his family arrived in Catasauqua more than 50 years ago.

“This move was a major change in my life: finding my place as a new kid, different culture, new foods, new schools, making new friends,” Linton said. “It took time to find opportunities to contribute to this community, but eventually, it became home and the place I truly belonged.”

He said he got involved in student activities and sports and was inspired by one of his teachers to become a teacher himself. Linton received a degree in education for grades K-6 from Slippery Rock College and started teaching first and fourth grades in Allentown School District. He went on to serve as a Title I reading specialist and then dean of students.

He returned to Catasauqua for the last 23 years of his career in education. He was the assistant principal at CMS before transitioning to a Title I reading specialist at Sheckler Elementary School. He then went back to CMS to work as the sixth-grade general science teacher.

“Coming home to my alma mater was an amazing experience,” Linton said. “I immensely enjoyed and was blessed to collaborate with and learn from the amazingly talented staff and administrators on a daily basis.”

He spoke highly of his CMS family and how honored he was to work there and at Sheckler Elementary.

“I am a better person for it,” Linton said. “I will miss all the wonderful people from Sheckler and CMS, but I know my way home.”

He plans to spend his retirement watching his family grow and evolve. He noted his wife has a list of destinations for them to explore, and he has a list of sporting events he wants to attend.

“Life has a way of teaching you,” Linton said. “I set out to make a difference in the Catasauqua community; instead, Catasauqua made a huge difference in, and forever changed, me. It has been my honor to educate generations of children from Catasauqua, watch them grow, thrive and reach their potential.

“I am forever grateful and blessed to have been a small part of it,” Linton added. “It’s always a great day to be a Rough Rider.”

Kristine Kostura, a special education teacher at Sheckler, was born and raised in Allentown and attended Parkland School District. She graduated from Kutztown University and has a master’s degree.

After teaching one year in the Allentown School District, she spent the next 22 years teaching special education in CASD.

“Sheckler was a community school that had many traditions they celebrated when I started teaching there back in 2003,” Kostura said. “I will miss all the fun events, such as the Halloween parade through the streets of Catty, Christmas tree decorating in the hallways, egg drop, field trips and going to Special Olympics each year with my students, to name a few.”

She took time to thank the colleagues she worked with over the years for their support, friendship and dedication to helping the students. She shared her appreciation for their words of encouragement, shared resources and time and for their sincerity and trust.

“I will always remember our shared laughter, our successes as well as our hardships,” Kostura said.

She said she will miss working with the students and the close ties and bonds formed with the families and community.

“(I will) continue my life journey no matter where it takes me,” she said.

In her retirement, she is planning to keep working and making a difference.

“It’s my life passion and a privilege to pick a profession dedicated to helping children grow and reach their full potential,” Kostura said. “To be part of that process has been self-rewarding, and I’m grateful for all the years I got to teach my students over the years.”

Steve Matto, a driver in the CASD transportation department, grew up in the Easton and Nazareth area. He noted he graduated from Nazareth about 50 years ago.

Matto spent 38 years working at Maiers Bakery before retiring at the age of 57. At this time, he noticed CASD was looking for a mail runner and help in the cafeteria. After a few years in that capacity, he was asked to be a bus driver.

He said he will miss talking and connecting with the students.

“My favorite memories were starting the school year — not talking much with the high school kids, but by Thanksgiving, we would be communicating every day,” Matto said.

In his retirement, he plans to spend more time with his wife, Kim, at their place near Wallenpaupack and going hunting and fishing.

Matto got to see firsthand how important it is to obey the bus stop laws during his time as a bus driver. He wanted to remind the community to follow the bus stop laws, slow down and pay attention.

“The children you put in harm’s way by not stopping may be someone’s child you know,” he said.

Other district retirees include Christopher Gerhard, Mary Frantz, Krista George-Martell, Claire Murawski, Rich Tyler and Jack Shollenberger.