Garden City parents, students plead to keep Mr. Olsen

Garden City music teacher and choral director Steven Olsen was cleaning out his desk this week after learning that he won’t be called back from layoff.

At the same time, a petition was being drawn up to save his position as parents and students spoke out in support of him at both Monday’s Garden City school board meeting.

Olsen, who has taught at Garden City High School for 10 years, said that he didn’t understand the decision but he appreciated the organized effort.

“I am honored and humbled by this show of support and encouragement,” Olsen said. “Often my program is a big splash in a small pool. My students work and learn about music and also how to be successful, happy members of our community. I will miss the opportunity to be a teacher in Garden City Public Schools.”

Olsen said that he loved the students and parents.

“I am given the rating of Highly Effective as a teacher and travel extensively with the students,” he said.

Has no job

Olsen had hoped to be among the teachers called back. So far, the Garden City school board has approved recalls of 17 teachers from the layoff list, which numbered 47 in the spring. This late before the start of school, Olsen said Thursday that he has no job.

Parent Tracy Tatro helped organize a recall effort with parent Karen Waldron. Waldron held up a “Reinstate Mr. Olsen” sign several times at the school board meeting so that it could be caught by the cameraman on video.

“Mr. Olsen means so much to this community,” Tatro said. “He is so much more than just a choir/music teacher. He is a mentor, a father figure, a friend. He always refers to the students as ‘our’ students because he takes just as much pride and responsibility in their futures as their parents do.”

Tatro called him a one-of-a-kind teacher.

“Mr. Olsen has built a community, a family of caring, respectful and honest young adults that we will soon rely on for our future,” Tatro said.

More than music

Tatro said that Olsen allowed students to express themselves beyond music. During “soapbox sessions,” a current event topic would be chosen and each class throughout the day was able to openly talk and think about that topic.

During an environment called a “coffee house,” students could sing whatever they wanted and parents, faculty and students could come and enjoy some coffee and muffins, Tatro said.

Open Mic occurred in the classroom where students were able to sing in front of their peers and were not afraid of being ridiculed or made fun of if they didn’t sing well.

“He taught our students to be respectful of each other and that no matter how good or bad someone sounded they were to be kind and encouraging,” Tatro said. “He taught them that everyone mattered.”

Trips with students

Olsen took students to New York to see a Broadway show and to Orlando, Fla.

“We traveled to NYC and the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Olsen said. “We had students in London and Paris 18 months ago and will be singing Ireland in April 2016. We also had students performing at Downtown Disney in Orlando last February. We are a busy group and I put it all together.”

Olsen also directed the annual Veterans Day concert.

“He honors all the veterans both past and present,” Tatro said. “There is never a dry eye in the audience after the show, which always ends with a standing ovation. He is teaching our students to respect and honor all military personnel.”

Kelly Wight, another parent, said that as a mother of a daughter with a medical diagnosis of spina bifida occulta, she was extremely nervous for her to begin high school.

“She loved to sing in her room but never in front of a crowd,” Wight said. “Mr. Olsen played a huge role in Kelsey overcoming her fear. She was in Chorus freshman year, chorale sophomore year and made it into singers her junior and senior year in which you have to know how to read music to make it into the Singers class.”

“Who would of thought that my shy daughter who had a hard time expressing herself would overcome her fear and sing a solo at Disney World her senior year,” she added.

Student Julia DeSanto said Olsen has been an important man in so many student lives.

“He’s taught me how to hold my head up and face my fears with confidence.” she said. “The school has made a very bad decision in letting him go. It's not very common anymore to have a teacher who cares so much about the confidence and home lives of their students. Mr. Olsen goes above and beyond being a caring man.”

Associate Superintendent Brian Sumner said that John Parkinson is tentatively scheduled to teach choir and band at the high school and middle school. He said part of the recall process is due to the state’s legislation in 2011.

Superintendent Derek Fisher added that “We recall based on rates and scores.”

For information about the petition, write Tatro at tracyltatro@gmail.com.

sbuck@hometownlife.com

Twitter: @SueSbuck