LEGACY TEACHER’S BENJAMIN ROOTS EXTEND THREE GENERATIONS

Jane Higginbotham’s Benjamin roots run deep. She began teaching at North Palm Beach Private School in 1974 and has since watched her son Rob and oldest granddaughter Rachael walk Benjamin’s halls, sit under its shaded Banyan trees and watch the Koi fish dart and dive in Mr. Benjamin’s original fish pond. “Hig”, whose youngest granddaughter Emery will be in first grade at Benjamin in the Fall, said the experience of seeing her children and grandchildren share people and places she has grown to love has been nothing short of magical.

“She [granddaughter Rachael] got to have the education be-gun so many years ago by the Benjamins that stood for not only fine academics but the qualities we now know as the Benjamin ideals. Now our youngest granddaughter, Emery, 6, has completed Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten and looks forward to first grade. What a joy it is to hear a little voice call out, ‘Hi, Noni!’ from one of Emery’s little classmates. Seeing your grandchildren every day as they grow and mature - can’t get much better than that!” said Hig.

Hig, who joined the Benjamin community after Mrs. Benjamin asked her to be a Pre-Kindergarten art teacher, remembers the Benjamins as special people both inside and outside the classroom.

“As the years went by, we would occasionally see them [the Benjamins] at their home on Elbow Key in the Bahamas while we were vacationing over there during the summers. Marshall prided himself on the homemade root beer he would make and bottle every summer as sodas were not common to have around. We always looked forward to having it while in the islands,” said Hig.

Hig said one of her fondest memories was when her son Rob was in fifth grade on the football team, preparing to go out on the field to play a local team of much taller, larger boys.

“I could see the hesitancy in our boys’ faces and eyes as they began to start. Mr. B. called for a final huddle, and we were fortunate to be sitting right above them. Mr. B said, ‘Boys, the other team might be larger and stronger than we are, but you can definitely out- think them. Go out and give it to them.’ The TBS boys did and won the game! This was the underlying thought behind what Mr. B taught - we can always outthink the opponents regardless of the situation,’ said Hig. She remembers that all 5th and 6th grade boys were required to play on the football team and play a musical instrument. At half time, they changed out of their football uniforms and into their band uniforms to perform before heading back on the field.

“Those were great days,” she said.

However, not all of Hig’s days have been filled with high school football and the Bahamian summer sun. She spent most of 1990 at Shands Hospital in Gainesville fighting cancer. Despite the devastating diagnosis and trying treatment, Hig remembers the Benjamin community rallying behind her.

“Not one day went by that I did not receive calls, flowers, cards and even visits from students and their families. Each Friday I received a ‘care package’ put together by my dear friend, Glenda Lovell Underwood, that contained letters and pictures from all of the children at school. How could I possibly feel down or give up with a whole school backing me,” Hig recalls. Later in her treatment, the School hosted a run called the Higgathon. Participants wore special t-shirts and sent a video of the event to Hig, who watched it in her hospital bed.

“After my treatment, I returned to school on a volunteer basis to finish out the year. This truly gave me the positive thrust I needed to go back to a normal life. (The children were
so cute-they sent me a huge box of wigs of all colors and styles and wanted me to wear the red curly one to school! ),” said Hig. Hig, who has been cancer-free since, attributes her recovery to her faith, family, friends and the Benjamin community.

“The Benjamin School is one special place near and dear to my heart. I believe they actually played a part in my survival. I will never be able to give them back the years of life their support has afforded me,” Hig told author Trevor Romain.

When reflecting on her four decades at Benjamin, Hig hopes that her students, affectionately called “Higbees” over the years, will remember her as a nurturing teacher and advocate who tried to build and strengthen their confidence.

“Bumblebees are not anatomically structured in a way that would enable them to fly, but no one
told them they couldn’t fly. Children are like these bees. They can do most everything they set their minds to do IF we don’t tell them they can’t.”
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A premier PK3 - Grade 12 independent, coeducational day school with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Since 1960, The Benjamin School has provided a challenging college preparatory education to a diverse student body in a structured, nurturing community environment.
 
After hours emergency contact:
Leslie Downs/Chief Operating Officer
Ph:  561.657.0075 or 561.747.0585