U.S. President Recognizes Retiring First-Grade Teacher
Several months ago, when our first-grade teacher Angie Wohlfarth announced her plans to retire at the end of this school year, she didn’t expect the news to reach all the way to the White House! But the family of student Blayke Crow thought a career spanning more than 35 years in education merited presidential consideration, so they contacted the White House. To Wohlfarth’s—and the class’s—surprise and delight, during her last week in first grade, she received a personalized note from President Barack Obama on White House stationery thanking her for her dedicated service to hundreds of children over the years. Wohlfarth has established and strengthened many first-grade traditions that promote a love of the written and spoken word at the stage when young learners are expanding their understanding of the three Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic). One of the favorite traditions is the annual series of Authors’ Teas, at which students share with parents and peers the short stories they have written and illustrated. At the recent teas in May, the stories featured snow days; pioneering female astronaut, Sally Ride; pet cats; pirates and cowboys; and a pancake-eating porcupine. Mother Goose’s yearly visit to first grade is another such tradition in which parents and families also participate enthusiastically. Parents play the roles of Mother Goose’s many friends, including the King and Queen of Hearts, Little Bo Peep, and Jack and Jill. The students get to share songs they have learned, and Mother Goose regales them all with “nonsense” rhymes.