Heather Reeder, a fourth-grade teacher at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, with Curtis Howell, principal of the intermediate school. Howell nominated Reeder for the Chagrin Valley Rotary Club Teacher of the Year award, which she received recently. (Photo Courtesy of Chagrin Falls Schools)

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Heather Reeder has had an affinity for working with children since she was a youngster.

In addition to working as a babysitter and day camp counselor, she was surrounded by education, as her mother was a preschool teacher and her father trained employees in his field.

“There was no other choice for me” than to become an educator, Reeder said in a news release.

Reeder, a fourth-grade teacher at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, has received the 2021-22 Chagrin Valley Rotary Club Teacher of the Year award after nearly 30 years of teaching in the Chagrin Falls School District.

Reeder said she was excited to receive the honor.

“I teach with such amazing people,” she said. “It’s a privilege to be chosen.”

Curtis Howell, principal of Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, nominated Reeder for the award. An interview with Rotary Club members followed the nomination.

Reeder said as part of the interview process, she had to write a resume, requiring her to look back at her years of teaching and committee work.

She was invited to a celebratory breakfast, where she received a plaque naming her Teacher of the Year and a plate with her name on it to be displayed by the Chagrin Falls Board of Education.

Reeder earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University, where she majored in early childhood education and elementary education. She went on to earn a master’s degree and reading endorsement from John Carroll University in University Heights.

In the early 1990s, Reeder began substitute teaching locally and became a long-term sub for a fifth-grade class at Chagrin Falls Schools. She was hired as a full-time fifth-grade teacher in the district in 1993.

Reeder was moved to fourth grade for five years and taught third-graders at Gurney Elementary School for nine years and kindergarten for 10 years. She said she has enjoyed every grade level she has taught over the years.

When the district needed intermediate school teachers in 2018, Reeder volunteered to teach fourth-graders and is still in that classroom today. She teaches math, science, social studies and English language arts.

“I loved everything I have taught, but I have a real passion for reading and writing,” she said.

Reeder, who moved to Chagrin Falls at a young age, is now raising her two children, Charlie and Caroline, in the village with her husband, Chris.

Her popular 2010 book, “Chagrin Falls: Our Village Letter by Letter,” was recently updated and republished as a “10-year-plus-one Anniversary Edition.”

Reeder’s oldest students are now in their late 30s, and she said she has had some of their children in her classes.

She said the students are her favorite part of the job. She loves finding out what they are up to after leaving her classroom.

“Catching up with a student from years ago is one of the most gratifying experiences,” she said. “It fills me with pure joy.”

Chagrin Falls High School senior Charlie Goodin, right, meets Brooke Andreas, an incoming kindergartner at Gurney Elementary School, as Brooke’s mother, Gurney teacher Kelly Andreas, looks on. CFHS seniors were invited to welcome incoming kindergartners with a personal visit to their home. (Photo Courtesy of Chagrin Falls Schools)

Before the Chagrin Falls High School senior class said goodbye, they first said hello to the new kindergartners who will be starting at Gurney Elementary School this fall.

CFHS seniors were invited to be part of setting a new tradition -- welcoming kindergartners with a personal visit to their home.

Every spring, students registered to start kindergarten in the upcoming school year receive yard signs saying, “A new Tiger is coming to Gurney Elementary School -- welcome to kindergarten!”

During the summer, the signs help the future students feel excited and proud to be starting school, according to a news release. And now the experience is made even more special, as graduating seniors hand-deliver the signs with a personal welcome.

On May 7, each participating senior wore their Chagrin Falls Schools spirit wear or clothing representing the college they’ll be attending in the fall as they introduced themselves to the future Tigers and their families.

Then, with parental permission, the graduating senior and incoming kindergarten student took a photo together next to the yard sign.

Photos were posted on the school’s social media with the hashtag #CFChooseCourage or #Classof2022and2035.

With this new tradition, the high school seniors will exemplify what they learned from reading the book, “Courage” and diving into courage themes throughout the year as part of the district’s One District One Book program.

While the incoming kindergarten students will need courage to go to a new school building, meet a new teacher and all new classmates, the graduating seniors will also need courage to possibly live away from home for the first time and meet all new teachers and all new classmates.

As a result, it’s only fitting for members of the classes of 2022 and 2035 to meet one another, Gurney Elementary School Principal Rachel Jones said.

“In this one simple act, you are demonstrating the courage to say goodbye and showing how we give courage to each other for what lies ahead,” Jones said in the release.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.

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