Teacher gives 'great' school reunion parties

Ask most kids to think about school, let alone a reunion of classmates on a weekend, and chances are the reaction might be tepid.

That's far from the case with teacher Ann Ramsey's annual reunion parties.

Ramsey is the "accelerated/enriched" teacher at Harrison Street School, teaching math and language arts to students in third through fifth grades.

The students are pulled out daily for those subjects, with some pulled out for just one, and not both.

The program started during the 2000-01 school year. In December 2001, Ramsey hosted a get-together for her recent "graduates," then thrown by the winds of chance into many different sixth-grade classrooms and teams. Much fun was had by all.

As the years went by, one party became two, then three, then four, with each class having its own bash. This year, with her former students now occupying every single upper grade, she threw seven parties over two weekends, including the grand finale -- a dinner for her graduating seniors, her first class.

It's fairly unusual for a teacher to do this on her own. It's also probably unusual for the students to look forward to it, and ink the event in as a "must attend" on their social schedules.

Parent Debbie Schrilla went to great lengths to assure son Jack could attend his party, wedged between a wedding and reception. In the end, logistical difficulties proved too much, and he was disappointed the he couldn't go after all.

"They love still seeing her," she said, of all three of her children going to (three separate) Ramsey events. Schrilla said that kids can have several great teachers, but that they don't necessarily get the chance to let that teacher know, years later, what an impact he or she had.

"This is their way of saying, 'You were a great teacher,'" she said.

And it's great fun besides.

Ramsey throws the parties it because she loves her former students and is interested in what they're up to and how they're doing. And she sees in the grade-specific parties a return to her classrooms of old.

"They reconnect with each other," she said. She gets enormous satisfaction out of seeing that annual reconnection and that resurgence of the camaraderie they feel with one another.

At one party last year, four kids "who normally don't hang out at school at all," she emphasized, stayed for two hours after the party had ended.

They watched football and played pool, inventing an intricate scoring system (this must have been the math kids ...) and rules that utilized their "white elephant" gifts and their imaginations.

"She's my favorite teacher," senior Clint Swims said simply. "It's always so nice to see her. She hasn't changed; she's always funny, she's always nice."

And interested in her former students? Definitely, he said.

This year's party was the last for her first class, her seniors, such as Clint.

"It was a really bittersweet party," said fellow senior Margaret Albright. "I'm very sad."

These students all spent a lot of time together in grade school, she said, pointing out that the pull-out classes formed their own small, daily classroom group.

The party is something she anticipates every year. "It's so fun to see everybody," she said. "We may not talk at school, but when we get back together, we talk about old times." Next year, Ramsey is planning an open house for the students who will then be college freshmen.

The parties tend to have a flow, with games, conversation and -- of course -- food.

But probably the highlight for the kids is the annual white elephant gift exchange.

Over the years, the gifts have been hilarious, and have included a can of sardines, old dolls and other household odds and ends. And each class seems to embrace a certain "sow's ear" of a gift, turning it into a coveted "silk purse."

For one class, it's a set of Weebles. For the seniors, it's an ever-so-attractive pig candle.

"Rod Nelson brought it in sixth grade, and it's been circulating ever since," Margaret explained. "Every year it's come back. That one is definitely the most fun."

James Acton "won" the pig this year, and "gets to keep it forever," Ramsey said.

Even the white elephant gifts are a brain game of sorts, with each giver charged with providing a clue as to the gift. For example, Margaret's gift was "Dr. Heimlich's Guide to Home Emergencies."

The clue? "This present will save your life."

Parents appreciate the parties as well. Some, such as Schrilla and fellow parent Bernadette Levy, attend yearly, to help out and visit with Ramsey as well.

"As a teacher, she approaches teaching the whole child first and foremost," said parent Suzy Shogren. "She believes that when you boost a child's self-esteem, learning goes right along with it.

"I think her parties -- that reconnection back with her students as they grow up -- demonstrates to them that what she preached to them from the very beginning is the truth."

Beyond the fun and games, the attraction at the party is definitely Ramsey herself, Clint and Margaret both agreed.

"We all loved her so much," Margaret said. "I think she was the first teacher to push us to really think, to think outside the box and be creative. She really pushes for you to be an individual."

And with conformity so prevalent, that push toward individuality is especially valuable, Margaret said.

In fact, she loved her time with Ramsey so much that for this final semester of high school, she will spend time every day as a teacher's assistant -- in Ramsey's classroom.

Life has come first circle.