Former Waukesha Mayor Nelson teaches English at Waukesha County's juvenile center

Laurel Walker:

Nine months after Waukesha voters gave Larry Nelson a swift kick out of the mayor's office, denying him a second term, he's back to teaching - if in a distinctively different place and position than the one he left four years earlier.

Nelson is the English teacher at the Waukesha County Juvenile Center, where he teaches 11- to 17-year-olds who either are in shelter care or have been court-ordered to secure detention.

"I've always loved teaching, and even when I was mayor I felt I was teaching on a bigger scale," he said.

Since Nelson, 55, was granted a leave of absence from his Butler Middle School teaching job in Waukesha when he was elected mayor in 2006, the School Board allowed him to return this fall, his 31st year of teaching.

Nelson comes to work at 8 a.m. every day to find out how many students he has, and who they are, he said. He could have one, or 10. They may be around for a day, a week or a month. The longest has been two months. With much of his teaching one-on-one or in small groups, he can customize what he teaches, he said.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 4, 2011 1:03 AM
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