The Best Teacher Many Students Never Had

I hope that many of you were able to stretch the weekend through to the fourth of July. If not, like me, I hope you had a great weekend with a day off tomorrow. I spent the weekend in Hoboken, NJ hanging out with my niece and nephew, and I was able to go to an unforgettable U2 concert at the Meadowlands. I have seen dozens of concerts in my lifetime and that show ranks as a top three easily, along with RUSH at the NYS State Fair grandstands a few years back, and Paul McCartney at Madison Square Garden in 2010. It was THAT good and restored my hope that these older bands aren't just out there "mailing in" concerts to pad their wallets. It flat out rocked.

The drive home did not flat out rock. A four-hour drive turned into five and a half hours due to construction, torrential rain, accidents, and flooding. I am no meteorologist, but I do not think we are in danger of a drought anytime soon.

Housing Summer School at CMS: Summer school starts soon and is being held at Camillus Middle School. The OCM BOCES leases the space from us and most schools from the west side, including West Genesee, send students to it. While Camillus Middle School is on the other side of the village of Camillus, many travelers from the six area school districts will be using West Genesee Street in the morning and afternoon to stop for food, gas, etc. While our parents and students are familiar with the territory, many visiting parents and students are not, so keep an extra eye out please, as well as an extra eye out around the high school, as summer camps are in full swing. Thanks!

The Best Teacher Many Students Never Had: I was going to hold off on a blog for a couple weeks, but I received news that long-time teacher, retiree, and a true piece of the fabric of West Genesee, Marsha Schoff, passed away. As news of her passing traveled through the Internet, graduate Sophie Meskos hit Marsha's impact right on the head when she said that, "Miss Schoff was the best teacher that she had never had". Many times it is easy to calculate how many students a teacher impacted in their careers, but in this case it really isn't possible. Yes, Miss Schoff taught for 36 years and always had a full load of 150 students on her schedule between US History courses and electives that were always closed out, so you could say that she impacted 5,400 students. I would call that her initial impact.

If you really want to get close to her true reach, you have to take into account that she was the Senior Class Advisor nearly every year that she worked for West Genesee; meaning she led EVERY senior ball and graduation. She was also responsible for starting the Mr. and Ms. West Genesee Pageant, Harvest Dinner, Senior High Awards Night and Honors Dinner (with former principal Helen White), Winter Semi-formal Dance, Spring Talent Show, and March Madness. She was also National Honor Society Advisor, and Student Council Advisor almost every year of her tenure as well.  You could not enter West Genesee as a freshman and exit as a senior without crossing her path; for 36 years.  She impacted tens of thousands of students and community members.

My best memories of Marsha would be her focus on excellence, and always having students needs at the heart of every decision she made. During my first two graduations here, she would give me blown up Polaroids (before cell phone cameras) to make sure that the ceremony lived up to my standards. In reality, I was trying to keep up to HER standards. To say that she will be missed is the understatement of the year. Her legacy, and one that I will continue to uphold, is the unwavering goal of helping ALL students to reach past their potential. Thank you, Miss Schoff, you will be missed by each and every one of us.

Thanks, and I will be writing again in a couple of weeks.

Happy 4th of July!!!
Chris