Jackson Elementary School has said good-bye to two of its
beloved staff members
Jackson Elementary School has said good-bye to two of its beloved staff members, Principal Mike Crocker and secretary Rosemary Streich; both retired last June.
“He was an educator,” said Carolyn McKennan, superintendent of Morgan Hill Unified School District. “And I mean that in the truest sense.”
Before school let out the students sang patriotic songs for their out-going principal. The songs were led by Karen Crane, member of the Independence Day Inc. (IDI) here in Morgan Hill. IDI is the organization that handles the Independence Day festivities.
Streich was also honored for her 23 years of service in the district during the ceremony, with a gift of flowers presented by Crane.
“I remember when I met Rosemary,” McKennan recalled. “She would call me to make sure I was on top of something. Jackson was between principals and she made sure that the school was not forgotten.”
Students sang songs including “The Star Spangled Banner,” “God Bless the USA,” and “This Land is Your Land.”
“It is a double loss for Jackson,” said Assistant Superintendent Denise Tate. “But we believe that we will have another new and wonderful principal and secretary.”
Karen Tavares is the new principal, moving from Buffalo, N.Y., where she held a similar job.
Crocker had been the principal at Jackson for six years. During his tenure, Crocker worked hard to improve the school’s math and reading. His efforts helped Jackson earn the Distinguished and Blue Ribbon School honors in 1997 and 1999, respectively.
The Blue Ribbon is awarded for excellence and only given to 266 schools nationwide. Jackson was one of five schools in the Bay Area that year to receive the award.
And only 13 schools in California earned the title of Distinguished School in 1997. The title is awarded based on eight criteria including school organization, active teaching and learning, and school, family and community partnerships.
A little known fact is that the school did not easily win the honor; it took some hard work from Crocker to earn the coveted title.
“The school was rejected in the first round,” said McKennan. “He went back to the committee and fought to get them to have another look at the school. The committee agreed with him.”
The parents were very supportive of Crocker. One of the major reasons Jackson received its awards was a result of parent volunteers.
“The support here is incredible,” said Crocker in 1999. “I came from another good school in New Mexico (in 1997). But I am taken aback by some of the wonderful things that happen here. Last year, each teacher gave me the names of parents that they would like to thank for helping out with various things. I had to write 160 thank you cards.”
The district threw a retirement party in June for Crocker, although he was unable to attend because of illness.
“(Crocker) always seeks to meet the needs of all students,” said Tate during the ceremony.
“He had an amazing presence,” said lead teacher Jocelyn Knapp, who filled in for Crocker whenever he has been unable to come to work. “He was always positive and upbeat.”
According to the staff at Jackson, Crocker was a principal who loved his students. He had an open door policy for the students to come in and talk with him.
“He was not intimidating,” said Knapp. “He could dole out discipline, but do it in a way not to lose the kids’ respect.
Crocker announced his intent to retire in April and the district has been looking for a replacement ever since.
The staff will have a hard time not only recovering from the retirement of their principal, but also the loss of their valuable secretary.
“We all say that the school could not run with out her,” said Knapp. “We all could be absent, but that would not matter if Rosemary were here. Everything goes bad when she is not here.”
“Rosemary has been incredible throughout her service at Jackson,” said Tate.
“Here is a lady who very much cared about the total child,” McKennan said. “She is so stoic, but behind the facade is a lady who cares for the children. But she is very quiet about it.”
The staff will not be the only ones to miss Streich. The students loved their school secretary. After the patriotic singing, one boy ran up to Streich and clung to her leg.
“Please don’t retire!” he begged.
“She is the kind of secretary who dips into her own pocket for children,” said Tate. “She is a real mother figure for these kids. She is very loyal to the teachers and the children.”
People are aware of her love for the children, but not because she bragged about it. According to McKennan, even when she did something for a child, she would never mention it.
“She saw to it that the children had clothes, but again, she was quiet about it,” she said.
“She used to have a job in the business world, but she gave it up to be with kids,” said Knapp. “She was very well liked.”
Crocker spent his entire career in the education field. Crocker graduated from Texas Tech University in 1972 and began teaching in New Mexico as a sixth grade teacher, later advancing to teaching middle school math.
In 1993, Crocker received his master’s degree from San Diego State, then became an administrator on both the high school and elementary school levels in New Mexico. In 1997 he moved to California and became the principal for Jackson School.
Streich started out as a substitute secretary/clerk typist for MHUSD, working at all but two sites in the district. The district decided to hire permanent clerks in 1985 and Streich began working at Jackson, then moved to San Martin/Gwinn Elementary for a year before moving to Nordstrom Elementary.
At the time she moved to Nordstrom, the school was overflowing with students and El Toro was built.
Streich was on the building committee for the new school and helped the create the school office.
In June 1992, Elsie Bagoye retired as secretary for Jackson School.
“I decided to make a change,” Streich said, “and wanted to go back to Jackson, the school my children attended in the past.”
Streich has worked for the district 17 years longer than Crocker and has been with Jackson for 11 years. She says that she will enjoy retirement.
“I am looking forward to retiring to enjoy traveling, hobbies, being with friends, my husband, relatives and my two grandsons, Will and Simon.” she said.
