Colleagues, students say M-A teacher Jim MacKenzie will be missed in his retirement Schools & Kids, posted by Editor, The Almanac Online, on Jun 5, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Classroom B2 at Menlo-Atherton High School will have the same number on the door next fall, but longtime inhabitant Jim MacKenzie — an M-A graduate, an M-A parent and, for 25 years, a social studies teacher there — will be somewhere else.
Posted by Tom Jacoubowsky, a resident of another community, on Jun 5, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Jim MacKenzie is a Sequoia District icon and will be missed. His teaching and coaching career at San Carlos High and Menlo-Atherton High was the embodiment of excellence. As a former teacher at Menlo-Atherton he played a huge role in my development as a young teacher. He has touched the lives of many and he is the model of what an outstanding educator should be.
Posted by Shannon Bradley Griscom, a member of the Menlo-Atherton High School community, on Jun 9, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I taught at Menlo-Atherton until 1998, and my teaching days were always enhanced by an encounter with Jim MacKenzie. Wearing his highland Scots costume, he danced a jig with me at Christina's wedding, and I was delighted that this year he was our granddaughter's teacher. His wry humor and willingness to reconsider issues made him a great role-model, and a respected, loved colleague. Administrators should try to groom more young teachers who might become the next MacKenzie's.
Posted by Josh Edelman, a resident of another community, on Jun 17, 2007 at 7:30 am
I had the great fortune to have Jim as a mentor teacher during the 1994-1995 school year. Jim modeled the importance of building caring relationships with students while offering rigorous, engaging, and relevant curricula to provoke students see the connection between World History, Economics and Psychology and the real world. Over my seven years at M-A, Jim continued to serve as a mentor helping immeasurably with the development of the RISE Program and my growth as a teacher and leader. Jim's dedication to his students, commitment to developing young faculty, and tireless contribution to overall school improvement will be sorely missed, but I have no doubt that Jim will be an active "retiree" continuing to push the Menlo-Atherton community toward excellence.
Josh Edelman
Incoming Director of the Office of New Schools, Chicago Public Schools