We all have a “favorite teacher” from our childhood. Today I received the news that my favorite teacher, Mrs. Gaudet, has passed away.

When I was in elementary school, I really didn’t care much for this thing called “school.” I don’t really know why. I just didn’t want to go, and I would’ve much rather stayed home with my mom and little brother. In fact, I would do anything to stay home. I even got quite creative at times. I remember placing the thermometer on a lamp to make it look like I had a fever (Yes, I got the idea from Elliot in the movie E.T. at the time.) I’d look for any excuse in the book to stay home and watch Scooby Doo and Mr. Rogers rather than go to school.

Then came the day I entered Mrs. Gaudet’s 1st grade classroom. You see, it was apparent that Mrs. Gaudet loved being a teacher. And, we loved being her students. She made each of us feel important. To this day I think of Mrs. Gaudet as the “Mrs.” version of “Mr. Rogers.” Going to her classroom was like going to your grandma’s house every weekday, and not ever wanting to come home. Why stay home to watch TV when you could live the real version of “Mrs. Rogers” in your own classroom! She even had me stand next to her in our class photo! (Yup! That’s me with the bowl cut standing proudly next to my favorite teacher.)

I have fond memories of her reading The Wizard of Oz each afternoon as we came in after lunch. She had special places around the classroom which we could all sit and listen to her rendition of the story of Oz. I remember the nine planets she posted on the wall, just to find out that sometimes Neptune was further away than Pluto. (Who knew that?!?) Update: Pluto is no longer a planet, so Neptune remains in last place to this day. Just sayin’.

We had a classroom pet… Caroline… a guinea pig she kept in a glass terrarium. That year one lucky first grader would get the opportunity to take Caroline home during Winter Vacation and care for her. Yes, I was the winner to be “Caroline’s Caretaker” that school year! A worthy responsibility to have been selected for such a high, honorable task!

“Save the whales” was a big deal back in the early 80s. We created clay whales, painted them with “wet chalk paint”, as we called it in first grade, but it was just a glaze. Mrs. Gaudet placed them in a kiln to make them turn into that beautiful, glassy-blue finish. At a very early age Mrs. Gaudet taught us to stand up for something greater than ourselves.

Eventually I grew out of my 1st grade classroom and moved on. I started to come to school a little more often than I used to. More confident. More optimistic. All thanks to the opportunity Mrs. Gaudet gave me for an entire school year. As the years went on I, too, became a teacher and eventually a principal. And, I still LOVE coming to school.

The years went on and I found myself starting the 2013-2014 school year. It was my first week at North Broadway Elementary School as their new principal, and I decided to visit the first grade classrooms. First grade was my first choice to visit as a new principal because it had always been my favorite grade as a student. By now, I think you know why.

This is where my little story begins to come full circle. As I sit down in a small chair I can’t help but reminisce about my first grade experiences. The teacher was sitting in her rocking chair with the students sitting on the floor around her. As I look around at the curious faces, one of the student’s little league jerseys catches my eye. The name on the back reads “Gaudet.” I introduce myself to the young man and tell him that he has a pretty cool last name. He has the same last name as my favorite teacher. He looks at me with a big grin and says, “My grandma was a teacher.”

This may sound like a storybook fairytale, but it’s 100% true. It’s funny how life, albeit with its challenging moments, seems to create the perfect script every now and then. I was now the principal at the school that my favorite teacher’s grandson attended. Week after week, when I’d see him at the lunch tables, I would tell him that I would love to see his grandma again. I knew it would be difficult because she was much older now, and lived in Mammoth about 7 hours away. Needless to say, I was still hopeful.

Years went by, and the little first grade grandson was now nearing the end of his 5th grade year moving onto middle school. As we prepared for our annual 5th grade promotion one morning at the end of the school year, someone came in to tell me that Mrs. Gaudet was in the audience to see her grandson, and that she would like to see me. “She remembers me?!?” I remember thinking… The rest of this story can only be told through one of my favorite pictures I have kept close to me. It reminds me of the power teachers hold as they touch the lives of so many children.

Today marks the end of a beautiful story for me. A story of how children can fall in love with school. As coincidences play a funny way in our lives, I was just talking with a colleague about Mrs. Gaudet earlier this very morning. Funny how teachers have such an important part in our lives. About two hours after talking with a colleague, I receive an email from my former school, North Broadway. The office clerk wanted me to know that Mrs. Gaudet’s son came in to see me and to let me know of her passing and the date of her Memorial Service. He didn’t know I was no longer the principal at North Broadway, and that I had found a new “home” at Lincoln.

Thank you, Mrs. Gaudet, for being my “favorite teacher.” Because of you, I still love coming to school each and every day. I miss you very much, I always will, and I promise to carry your love of this profession in helping children find their very best selves. You did that for me. Thank you, forever.

-Your first grade student, Jason