My favorite teacher was Peggy Skaff Andersen, she taught fourth grade, English & History. I felt safe. Coolidge was structured, families were close, all-American environment. There was one black teacher, Mrs. Abercrombie and she was special needs teacher. The school was very formal, no one was allowed to wear jeans until 5th grade and girls couldn’t wear anything except dresses I enjoyed being able to learn about so many different things, and that it was very family oriented. Most of the families had two parents.I remember that the fathers got together and got a bus to take the male students to a Tigers game. We had awesome Halloween parades, played dodgeball, roller-skating in gym class. They showed scary movies in the gym on Saturdays. The teachers obviously cared. They made sure to present yourself in a proper manner. Outside of education, manners were very highly instilled.[When Coolidge closed] It hurt. Had a feeling that somewhere the administration went wrong. What I had experienced at Coolidge was a rarity. I was scared that the building would be vandalized, damaged, or burned down due to it sitting empty. People were very hurt; they couldn’t believe that such a great school wasn’t going to be around anymore. The way Coolidge operated was an example for the world. When I received the news that Glenn and Essence would be repurposing the building, the pain of the closing turned into joy. Every time I pass the building, smile. |