The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HUNDREDS GATHER TO SAY GOODBYE
Students, staff celebrate end of an era for Garfield Elementary
It was a bittersweet night as hundreds gathered to bid farewell to Garfield Elementary School in Mentor.
Staff members and students, both past and present, came to celebrate the end of an era for a school that has served the community for over three quarters of a century.
Many expressed sadness over the closing of the school but smiled as nostalgia took over and they reminisced about some of their favorite memories created there.
Addyson Habe, currently a fifth-grader who has attended Garfield since kindergarten, said she feels sad about the closing even though she is moving on to the middle school. She expressed her school spirit and fondness for the school as she proudly proclaimed Garfield to be the best school ever where she met her best friends.
Isabella Reale, now a junior at Mentor High School, also feels the school closing is sad. Her favorite memory during her time at Garfield was when she learned cursive writing.
Marilyn Kretschman, a former teacher who started teaching there in 1979, said she was kind of sad about the closing and really hopes they aren’t going to tear it down.
“I really hope that’s the one thing they don’t do,” Kretschman said. “I would like it to stay here and be used in the Mentor community.”
“Obviously, this is a bittersweet event. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a good friend and Garfield has felt like a good friend to so many.”
— William Porter, Mentor Schools interim superintendent
Payton Sikora, who is now a seventh-grader at Memorial, also feels the school closing is sad.
“There’s a bunch of memories I have from there and the teachers were so cool,” Payton said.
Garfield is one of three schools being closed in the district due to declining enrollment. The district will also close Brentmoor Elementary School and Ridge Middle School will be closed and converted into an elementary school.
During the Later Gator Bash held by the district on May 4, the community had the opportunity to tour the school one last time and take a walk down Memory Lane guided by the “Strolling through the Years” display of photos and memorabilia from the 1930s, when the school opened up, to the present time. There was also a digital time capsule attendees could watch.
Parents, students and staff walked the hallways of the building, visiting old classrooms and sharing hugs as they ran into former teachers, students or friends.
The celebration also featured games, crafts, a balloon artist, face painting, a President James Garfield impersonator, the Garfield Gator mascot and the opportunity for a group photo in front of the school.
Food trucks from Bario, Donut Lab, Chris’s Ice Cream and Big D’s were there in addition to the school providing complimentary hot dogs, potato chips and desserts.
Former Garfield students provided entertainment for the evening.
Logan Katoch performed House of Gold on her ukulele, Alyssa Desotell performed Popular, Kourtney Syrus and Brianna Reilly performed Count on Me and Gianna Baroni performed Little Wonders.
Speakers included William Porter, Mentor Schools interim superintendent, Ken Buckley, past Garfield principal and current Mentor Board of Education member, Janice Price, past principal, and Marc Kaminicki, current Garfield principal.
“Obviously, this is a bittersweet event. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a good friend and Garfield has felt like a good friend to so many,” Porter said. “Over the years and we go back all the way to 1938, Garfield has served tens of thousands of students here in Mentor so well. It’s been a great building with over 80 wonderful years of memories but what makes it extra special are the students who have occupied the building at various points in time and staff members who have considered it a second home.”
Garfield has grown into more than 800 students and a climate of a large warm loving family, Buckley said.
Price recalled her memories from her days as principal.
Her favorite she said was the One School One Book program and how the school worked with that to really draw together a community where they were reading one chapter a night, asking trivia questions the next day and hoping every student would get a prize for knowing the right answers.
“There are so many wonderful and positive memories to take with us. Garfield has a special place in my heart because I know the difference between the way students are treated in other districts and the or students are treated here in Mentor,” Price said. “With the closing of Garfield, you will take the memories of all the friendships you have developed as you put your feet on a new path and in that new path your feet cross with people that you know from here and you will be able to extend those relationships to other people as well.”
Kaminicki recalled joining the Garfield Staff in 2015 and how he realized how dedicated the teachers were to the students even during the summer months.
“In less than a month this building will close its doors forever as an elementary school building, a place where thousands of students started their educational journey and while it is sad that the physical structure which has served us so well will no longer exist it’s the people of the Garfield community that make this such a special and inspirational place,” Kaminicki said.
Added Porter” “Garfield has undoubtedly been a success part of Mentor Schools over the years and its memories and history will continue to sustain us even as we adapt to change.”