I’ve shared many memories of my years on the faculty of Jane Addams High School in the Bronx. (See The Diary of a Young Girl – for Ana, Magazines for the Principal – for David, Educator of the Year – Remembering Milton, and The Great Jane Addams Library Flood)
Another sweet Jane Addams memory was of accompanying our students on school trips. For many years the teacher who ran the Future Business Leaders club took her students to regional conferences in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Rochester and always asked me to co- chaperone.
And over the years several of my colleagues and I chaperoned our seniors on unforgettable June weekends in Orlando to celebrate Grad Night at Disney World. Because the cost of air travel, food, and lodging was a stretch for most of our students’ families, the kids sold candy, ran bake sales, and washed cars to raise funds. And to further help defray expenses many of us teachers donated to the pot.
The first time I went to Florida with the kids I learned that many had never been on a plane before. And when we arrived in Orlando and went to cool off in the hotel pool I realized many had never learned to swim. All the more reason we were eager to give them a memorable experience at Disney World.
By day we toured the park, the kids enjoyed the sights and the exhibits, thrilled at the rides, and scoured the shops for souvenirs and gifts to take home.
At nightfall when the grounds closed to the public, our students, and high school groups from up and down the east coast, had Disney World all to themselves for magical evenings of fireworks and fun.
After our last, late night in Florida we flew home exhausted. But I knew from the happy, sleepy faces on the plane we’d given our students a weekend of Grad Night memories at Disney World they’d cherish!
– Dana Susan Lehrman