This afternoon on Irving School's front porch, we honored our two retiring teachers, Mrs. Stychara and Mrs. Loco. Mrs. Loco has spent her entire teaching career - more than 30 years - at Irving. For as long as anyone can remember, she has been a wildly popular second grade teacher. I first met her when we were both chaperoning an after-school bowling league back when Kelsey was in first grade. I was so impressed with her confident, loving disposition and professional appearance.
When Erin was in second grade she was lucky enough to land in Mrs. Loco's classroom. From the trucker buddy to Where's Waldo, Mrs. Loco filled every minute of second grade with hands-on learning, and made it the very best possible year Erin could have asked for. She even overcame the terror of discovering a family of mice hiding out in one of her classroom cabinets. Erin offered to stay after school and help her clean it out, and they've been good friends ever since.
Mrs. Loco didn't just teach second grade, she was Irving's resident tooth puller. School legend has it on good authority that she is a direct descendant of the tooth fairy, and many a student with a wobbly tooth has made his or her way up to Mrs. Loco's room to have the thing removed. Drew was an especially frequent customer. As soon as one of his teeth would begin to wiggle, Drew would say, "Maybe Mrs. Loco can take it out today." More times than not, his ventures into her classroom for a tooth status check would net in a "I'm sorry, Drew, it's just not ready yet." Mrs. Loco had pulled so many teeth over the years, she knew exactly when one was ready and when one wasn't. She was always so tender and so gentle, the students never felt more than a slight tug. Over the years, many parents sighed with relief when their children came running out of school, baby tooth in hand, exclaiming, "Mom! Look what Mrs. Loco pulled for me today!"
Thank you, Mrs. Loco, for your years of dedication to our children and school. You will be sorely missed!
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