PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
Name: Nardi Routten
Family: Married to Mark for
31 years. Two sons, Austin
and Wayne.
Hobbies: “I love to read. I love
to sew. I love making chair
pockets for my students over
the summer. Recently, I took up
running to release stress, and I
do a lot of thinking as well.”
Something people don’t know about me: “I have an
identical twin sister who lives in Pennsylvania. We would
play tricks on our friends growing up.”
What inspires me: “My students really inspire me! They
inspire me to be the best I can be to help them be the best
they can be.”
Port St. Lucie Magazine 51
FORT
PIERCE
ED DRONDOSKI
Routten, who is working toward a master’s degree in reading, loves teaching
fourth-graders because they are so impressionable.
at Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce. Her oldest son,
Wayne, was away at college. “My husband was very proud
of me and said that in many ways. We went out to dinner Saturday
night to celebrate. We were going to go out that Friday,
but it was so emotional I couldn’t get off the couch,” she says.
A self-described Army brat, Routten lives in Port St. Lucie,
where she and her family put down roots 31 years ago. “I
really like PSL. I’ve seen it grow tremendously, and it’s amazing
how quickly and huge it is, but I enjoy it, and everything
I need is here,” she says.
But most of all, she likes her students ― particularly the
age they’re at, (mostly) 10-year-olds. “I love this age. You can
mold them; you can teach them. They still respect you,” says
Routten with a smile. E
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