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Saturday, November 2, 2024

WCSU recognizes three generations of educators in one family

DANBURY, Connecticut — “Education is not the filling of a pail, but  the lighting of a fire” is a statement often misattributed to Irish poet  William Butler Yeats, but more likely said by Greek philosopher  Plutarch. Regardless of the quote’s origin, the aforementioned  “educational fire lighting” by members of a local family is impossible  to overlook — because nine family members spanning three generations  have ignited the intellectual curiosity of students in classrooms from  Fairfield County, Connecticut, to Westchester County, New York.

Not only has this family produced a stunning number of professional  educators — all of them received one or more of their degrees from Western Connecticut State University in its various incarnations between 1956 and 2013.

As the spring semester drew to a close in May, WCSU’s School of Professional Studies held a Convocation ceremony during which all three generations of this  family were recognized for their accomplishments as teachers or  administrators when they received the 2022 Darla Shaw Award. Shaw has  been a faculty member in the WCSU Department of Education & Educational Psychology in numerous roles since 1996, and the award is named in her honor.

WCSU Professor of Education Dr. Darla Shaw (left) visited former student Kori Krafick at Morris Street School in Danbury on Dr. Seuss Day. Kori and members of her family received the 2022 Darla Shaw Award at a May ceremony on the WCSU campus.

WCSU  Professor of Education Dr. Darla Shaw (left) visited former student  Kori Krafick at Morris Street School in Danbury on Dr. Seuss Day. Kori  and members of her family received the 2022 Darla Shaw Award at a May  ceremony on the WCSU campus.

“Instead of giving the award to one person, I wanted to give the  award to a Danbury family,” Shaw said. “This family has nine members —  spanning three generations and seven decades — who have received one or  two degrees from WCSU and made an impact as area teachers. The Krafick  family is so knowledgeable, compassionate, charismatic, dynamic and  interesting,” Shaw continued. “WCSU and the Danbury area are so lucky to  have this family with its strong Irish roots as part of the community. I  have never been prouder to give an award to anyone.”

With the help of Kori Krafick, a language arts specialist at Morris  Street, Pembroke, Hayestown and South Street schools in Danbury and a  member of the family’s third generation, we’ve been able to piece  together the family’s WCSU roots and recollections as told to her by her  relatives.

 Harry Scalzo, Kori’s maternal grandfather, attended  Danbury State Teacher’s College from 1954 to 1956 and received an  Associate Degree in Science. He was called to serve the country and  enlisted as an officer. When he returned, he received a B.S. in  Elementary Education at Southern Connecticut State University, and  later, a Master’s in Reading and Language Arts at UConn. Harry was an  elementary school teacher in Stamford and later was a remedial reading  specialist in Katonah, New York, for 35 years.

Bobby Scalzo, Harry’s brother and Kori’s great-uncle, attended  Danbury State Teacher’s College from 1960 to 1964, and earned an  Education degree. He started his career at Mill Ridge Primary School and  ultimately retired from Rogers Park Middle School, both in Danbury.

Patricia Bowen, Kori’s paternal grandmother, attended Danbury State  Teacher’s College from 1954 to 1958. She graduated with K-8 degree, and  did her student teaching at Roberts Avenue School, first grade; and  South Street School, fifth grade. She taught fifth grade in Darien for a  year before having her children and raising a family. When her kids  were older, she was a permanent substitute in Brookfield and then taught  seventh grade at Sacred Heart in Danbury. Patricia retired recently  from the City of Danbury Welfare Department, and is still involved with  the WestConn Society.

“Everything I learned at Danbury State Teacher’s College I’ve used in  every aspect of my life; personal, professional and civic,” Patricia  said. “I also had a lot of fun in those four years, and I continued  having fun in my life, as well. I remember my first day and first class  in 1954. When the professor entered the classroom to teach, I stood up. I  looked around. Nobody else was standing. The professor looked at me,  said nothing, and took his seat. Red in the face, I slunk in my chair,  confused. My classmates must have been confused too. Some asked me after  class why I stood. I told them in the 12 years of my previous Catholic  schooling, we always stood. It took me several days remaining seated to  be comfortable like my classmates and forget my embarrassing moment.”

John “Jack” Krafick, Kori’s paternal grandfather, attended Danbury  State Teacher’s College from 1954 to 1958. He taught eighth grade  English at Mill Ridge Primary School and then taught fifth grade at  Pound Ridge Elementary School in Bedford, New York.

The next generation begins with David Krafick, son of Patricia Bowen  and Jack Krafick, who attended Western Connecticut State University from  1983 to 1993. He said he had a hard time deciding on his major, but  ultimately majored in Elementary Education. After graduation, David  taught fifth grade at Park Avenue Elementary School in Danbury for nine  years. He then became a sixth grade social studies teacher at Rogers  Park Middle School for two days before being asked to serve as acting  assistant principal at Rogers Park, which he did for 1.5 years. David  then moved into the role of acting principal at Hayestown Elementary  School, where he had attended elementary school as a child, for the  remainder of the year. David subsequently became the principal of Park  Avenue Elementary School and is currently serving his 15th year there as  principal.

“I loved WestConn,” David said. “I was a full-time student for 10  years. I kept changing my major and I swore I never would be an educator  because of how many there were in my family. Over the many years,  whenever I’d register for classes, I’d hear others talking about the  classes they needed to take. I was able to tell them which class to take  and which professor to take it with because I’d been through so many.  They’d ask me “How long have you been here?!” My part-time work with  children as a camp counselor and visits to schools solidified my  decision to become an educator.”

Kathleen Krafick-Benzing, Kori’s aunt on her father’s side, went to  WCSU from 1980 to 1983 where she received a B.S. in Education. She is  certified pre-K to eighth grade and has a minor in math. She also  received her master’s degree from WCSU in Early Childhood Development  from 1992 to 1994. Kathleen spent all of her years teaching at St.  Joseph’s School in Brookfield. She taught third grade for three years,  first grade for five years, and 6th/7th/8th grade math for 19 years. She  now is a substitute teacher in the Danbury Public School System.

“My takeaway from WestConn was and still is to always to be  prepared,” Kathleen said. “Always have an extra bag of tricks ready so  that you are one step or two steps ahead of your students. You may have  the perfect lesson planned and yet you walk into the room that day and  everything gets turned upside down. Always have a Plan B ready just in  case. Flexibility is also key to your success!”

Bob Benzing, Kathleen’s husband and Kori’s uncle, graduated from  Western Connecticut State College in 1975, and taught math for seven  years at Immaculate High School where he also coached football and  baseball. He has taught physics at Hendrick Hudson High School in  Montrose, New York, for the last 40 years. He retired this spring with  47 years in the field of education.

One of Bob’s strongest recollections was of his time as a  student-athlete. “I was a football player at WestConn. We went to Maine  to play at Maine Maritime Academy, and they put us up in a merchant ship  docked near the campus. We slept in cots that folded down from the  walls.”

Ellen Krafick, another of Kori’s aunts on her father’s side, obtained  a B.S. in Education in 1987 and a master’s degree in 1995, both from  WCSU. She taught seventh grade language arts and social studies from  1987-89, and third grade from 1989-97. After taking time off to raise  her son, Ellen then became a middle school reading specialist in 2006  and is still currently in that role.

“I didn’t originally go to school to be a teacher,” Ellen said. “I  was in the banking field and avoided being a teacher because of how many  educators there were in my family. Spending time with my nieces and  nephews made me realize that I should be a teacher. A funny memory that I  have while at WCSU was when one of my professors questioned my social  life with my husband because of the time I spent creating really amazing  educational games. None of my classmates wanted to present after me,  though!”

Kori Krafick, David’s daughter, is the only member of the third  generation of the Krafick family to continue the tradition of training  to become an educator at WCSU. As a famous poet or philosopher might  observe, she is the last in the family to carry the torch to light that  educational fire — unless someone from the upcoming fourth generation  catches the spark.

Kori went to WCSU from 2009-2013, and was a member of the National  English Honors Society, the Education Honors Society, and earned the  Marie C. Wasser Award. After graduation, Kori worked as a long-term sub  in Danbury before getting a full-time job as a third-grade teacher at  King Street Primary in Danbury. While teaching, she completed a Master’s  in Literacy at Manhattanville College. She is in her fourth year as a  language arts specialist at Morris Street, Hayestown, Pembroke and South  Street schools in Danbury. In this role, she supports classroom  teachers in teaching their language arts curriculum through coaching and  professional development. She’s also currently pursuing a master’s in  Educational Leadership at Manhattanville College that will enable her to  be a building-based or district administrator — or facilitate following  in her father’s footsteps as a principal at an elementary school.

“All in all, we have three generations of WCSU alumni in the family —  all educators,” Kori said. “I was incredibly lucky to have Dr. Shaw as a  professor during my time at WestConn. She made our classes fun and  useful; she works hard to keep herself current and up to date on  educational practices and trends. Dr. Shaw has made it a point to keep  herself active in education and in the lives of her former students; she  has often come into the schools that I work at to story-tell for  students in the Danbury Public Schools. Our students are always in awe  of her, just as we were in awe of her as our professor. It was a true  honor for our family to receive this award from Dr. Shaw.”

Western Connecticut State University  changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education  that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and  leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a  premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who  prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.

(l-r): Ellen Krafick, Kathleen Krafick-Benzing, Patricia Bowen, David Krafick and Kori Krafick

Original source can be found here.

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