Photo provided
Krueger Middle School history teacher Sue Ard (right) poses for a photo with eighth grader Ailbe Miegl during the 2023 Living History event on school grounds. Ard, who has been at Krueger for 22 years, runs the event for students and staff alike to learn from and enjoy.
Krueger’s Ard makes history come alive
By Morgan Powenski
Staff writer
MICHIGAN CITY – Sue Ard teaches her students the past to get them ready for the future.
Ard, a social studies teacher at Krueger Middle School, is kind, helpful, chill and can be firm when needed to be. She also never gets tired of the job.
“There are good days and bad days,” she said. “The good outweighs the bad.”
Way before she became a teacher, she was adopted at age 3. Her dad was older than others, so she was taught about and experienced a lot of things in life. She went on fun vacations, family visits to Kentucky and trips to Disney World.
As she got older she started to read, which took her mind to fun places.
“Oh my goodness, I loved to read,” Ard said.
She loved to read so much, she accidentally stole a book, Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood by Ellen Conford, from her seventh grade teacher.
“I probably read it five times that year,” she said. “And, if you look carefully in my classroom library, that same book is there!”
Her father is the one that got her interested in history. He was born in 1914, so he told her stories about the invention of airplanes that made her excited about past.
She also had great high school teachers, and went on to get her teaching degree at St. Joseph’s College.
She met her husband, Michigan City High School teacher Matthew Ard, on January 19th, 1990.
The more time he spent with her, the more he fell in love with her kindness.
“I’ve never known someone to be more selfless or care more about everyone but herself in my life,” Matthew Ard said.
She’s been teaching for 28 years and has worked at Krueger for 22 years.
Haley Barnes is a former student of Ard, and she likes how Ard makes sure students feel welcomed.
“She will go out of her way to make sure you’re OK and understand the work,” Haley said.
Lawrence Van Norman is a current student of Ard, and appreciates how she shows a great understanding of social studies to students.
“I think Mrs. Ard brings her knowledge on multiple different things to this school, and her history knowledge,” Lawrence said.
Because she is a good history teacher, she has great experience which is useful for running Living History.
Living History is a yearly event for seventh and eighth graders to dress up as people from history, teach elementary school kids about the past and do fun skits.
The event is great for teaching Krueger students to socialize and teach others.
“Mrs. Ard brings passion to the Living History days,” KMS teacher Jenny Jones said. “She has been single-handedly organizing it for the past few years, and she has done an amazing job. She works to get new costumes and supplies for the students as well as making sure the days run smoothly.”
After every good and bad day, Ard still enjoys being here at Krueger with the kids.
Ard and her husband are still married and now have two adult children named Kevin and Emily.
“She is easily the adult in our relationship,” Matthew Ard said. “If it weren’t for Mrs. Ard, I would be living in a dirty garage, with several shiny motorcycles.”
She is near the end of her teaching career, and is hoping to retire somewhere warm, with no snow.
She also hopes that after she retires, field days and Living History will continue for future generations to learn from.
“They are such good programs for kids,” Ard said. “Even taking the science and history out of it, those field days teach kids good communication skills. Skills that no matter what your future job will be – working at McDonald’s or being a CEO of a company – you will need to know how to communicate and explain things to other people.
“It’s great that we give you that opportunity here.”