During the invocation at an educators appreciation dinner Monday evening, Akron City Councilman Mike Freeman gave thanks for “people that care enough to dedicate their lives to the knowledge and wisdom of others.”
Then it was time for the Kenmore community to thank about 90 teachers and staff from Kenmore High School for their service as the school prepares for a merger with Garfield High School in the fall.
Some have been at Kenmore for their entire careers, said party organizer Nancy Laria, a special education teacher at Voris elementary school who had been an in-school suspension supervisor and past PTA president at Kenmore. She also spent 13 years at Garfield.
“These people need to know that they did make an impact on our students,” Laria said.
The new school will be the final newly constructed high school in Akron Public Schools’ nearly $800 million districtwide construction project.
The teachers and staff at Kenmore face an uncertain future, not knowing where they will be assigned next school year until August. But for one night, they had a chance to enjoy dinner and drinks with co-workers whom Laria and others described as “family.” The gathering at the Hibernian Club on Brown Street also included dessert and gifts for everyone.
“They just don’t know [what’s going to happen],” said Julie Ann Sweet-Buntin, treasurer and secretary of the Kenmore Athletic Booster Club, one of the evening’s sponsors. “And so it’s just been a very negative experience. We just want to focus on the positive, what these teachers have done for our community.”
Teachers and staff sat at long tables decked out in Kenmore Cardinal red, black and white. There were tables with prizes for the men and the women. Many of the women’s gifts were made by students with disabilities at Garfield, including paper topiaries, little “I Love Teaching” bird plaques and Starbucks earrings. Kenmore cookies, marshmallow pops, a sheet cake and other sweets filled a dessert table. Each place had a goody bag filled with candy and a little sign with Snoopy on it that read “Thank you for all the ‘Snickers and Joy’ you’ve brought to Kenmore High School.” Poster board stars in Kenmore colors read “Kenmore Shining Stars.”
Tony Klein, owner of Auto Central and a home rental company and a 1996 Kenmore graduate, was one of the business sponsors.
“I feel really bad for what they’re going through,” Klein said. “We’ve stood up and tried to fight the whole situation.” He hoped the dinner would help “bring the community together to thank the teachers and show them that someone cares.”
Other sponsors were the Kenmore Chamber of Commerce, Kenmore Kiwanis, Kenmore Komics & Games and retired teacher Jan Williams, in addition to Laria and Sweet-Buntin.
Williams taught at Kenmore for 40 years, retiring in 2000 but coming back as a tutor in 2002. She retired again in 2009.
“These people deserve a pat on the back,” she said.
Laria said the dinner was meant to lift morale before the end of the year, “to give them a boost.”
“I want these people to know that people care about them,” she said, “that the community cares about them. … This is family. I’ve been in a lot of schools, but this is family.”
Teachers who were chatting with each other over drinks agreed.
“We actually like each other,” said Rebecca Grajzl, an English teacher at Kenmore for nine years. “We’re one of those few teaching staffs that do. We work well together.”
“It’s a fabulous way to show teachers appreciation for our dedication to Kenmore for all the years,” said Stephanie Andrews, an English teacher at Kenmore for 12 years.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Danielle Streb, a math teacher at Kenmore for 11 years. “It’s very nice, and sad.”
Streb said she was surprised by the event. “I thought the staff would get together in small groups on their own but not like this. This is fantastic.”
The teachers don’t know what’s next.
“We put in transfers and wait until the district tells us where we’re going to go,” Andrews said.
Special education teacher Heather Thornton, who has taught at Kenmore for 13 years, said she was “kind of blown away” by the party. She’s had a lot of the same students for three or four years and her assistants have been with her for most of her time at the school.
“It’s very sweet, that they’re thanking us,” she said. “I kind of feel like thanking them for all the years I’ve been able to work with their children, because to me, that’s thanks enough.”
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.