She’s missed every day - Outdoor classroom tribute to former teacher
Trisha Benton
Wausa Gazette
WAUSA — An outdoor classroom was constructed as a fitting tribute to the memory of a teacher whose loss is still felt deeply.
Students recall Tish Hennings teaching on the hill on the north side of the elementary section of Wausa Public Schools - the exact spot where the outdoor classroom was recently completed in her memory.
LaNell Kumm, who was leading the Wausa Elementary Parent Council at the time of Hennings’ death in 2019, came up with the idea and the council spearheaded the efforts from the beginning.
“Kids really mattered to Tish. The school really mattered to Tish,” Kumm said. “We wanted her memory to be there in a functional way forever.”
Remembered as a teacher who believed in recess and tried to get her students outside as much as possible, the outdoor classroom was especially fitting, said Jess Barta, the parent council’s current president.
“We’ve still got to learn but sometimes we need that brain break. Students can go outside and do their classroom lesson out there . . . . Fresh air does wonders,” she said.
Dedicated earlier this month, the outdoor classroom is available to all students from preschool to high school seniors.
Although the Wausa Elementary Parent Council took the lead, the project wouldn’t have been possible without the entire community’s support, Barta and Kumm said.
Barta sent fliers to all of the alumni who had Hennings as a teacher and she received close to $5,000 for the project - an amount that seemed “unreal” to Barta.
“People just gave and gave to fund it and it was a very heart-touching show of love for Tish from the community,” Kumm agreed.
Not only did the project receive monetary donations but alumni also came to help get their hands dirty.
Kelly and Jamie Clausen of Clausen Concrete helped draw up the plans and pour the concrete for the project while another alum John Miller of Miller’s Landscaping helped with the green space, sod and plants.
Over two years in the making, it’s a joy to have the outdoor classroom completed, Kumm said, and she thinks Hennings would’ve been proud.
“She’d be really thrilled to have a classroom outside. She would love the idea,” she said. “I smile every time I see it out there, how beautiful it turned out.
