Our Lady of Lourdes middle-school teacher feted as she prepares to leave Utah after 17 years

Friday, Jun. 12, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Karen Streeter, Our Lady of Lourdes middle school English and language arts teacher, will move to Boston in July with her family, where her husband has been transferred and where she has accepted a position in a Catholic middle school.

Streeter has taught at Our Lady of Lourdes School for 17 years and has been a “very integral part of the school,” said Christine Bergquist, principal. “She has taught so many kids who have come through these doors and gone on to Judge Memorial [Catholic High School], and some are now bringing their kids here because she is here, which is just amazing. She is a fantastic teacher and she is going to be missed; Boston is getting a master teacher.”

A farewell reception was held for Streeter June 4, the last day of school. 

“The last day of school was very difficult for a lot of the kids, knowing that Karen wouldn’t be back,” said Sue Patillo, Our Lady of Lourdes reading teacher. “In addition, she is one of my best friends, so it’s difficult for me as well.”

For Streeter, Our Lady of Lourdes School “has become a home for my husband, my two boys, and myself,” she said. “The fact that we are a small school makes for a close community where there is endless support. I have had the unique privilege of teaching many of my students three times before they have graduated.” 

Streeter and her husband moved to Salt Lake City in 1998, when she began teaching middle school English/language arts at Our Lady of Lourdes. In 2002, when her first son was born, she began teaching first grade; six years later she returned to the middle school.

A group of Our Lady of Lourdes eighth-graders said Streeter has a great sense of humor, is positive, a wonderful teacher, passionate about what she teaches, knows how to make learning fun and her students are her family.

“I loved Mrs. Streeter,” said Marisa Mendez, a JMCHS senior, who had Streeter in first and seventh grade. “We always had fun in her classes. The way she taught The Crucible and The Outsiders was amazing. The Outsiders is now my favorite book.” 

“I remember Turtle Town in the first grade, where we got cash for being good,” said Solana Galvan, now a senior at West High School.

“Karen is by far the best middle school teacher I’ve ever come in contact with; she understands middle-schoolers, and she is really the heart and soul of Lourdes,” said Christy Terrill, a colleague, as she choked back tears.

Pat Phillipp, Our Lady of Lourdes second-grade teacher, said, “Karen is the best listener, and she makes every person feel important; she has so much energy.” 

Over the years Streeter has been “blessed to work with many passionate and dedicated teachers who have taught her “endless techniques and have become good friends,” she said. “Every teacher here is devoted to making our school friendly and effective; we truly are a family here.” 

Streeter has kept in contact with many of her former students, “and they have kept memories alive,” she said. “My seventh-graders in 1998 were responsible for the legend that leprechauns live in our storage room, we lived out the 9/11 attacks and the 2002 Olympics together in our classroom, we traveled to ancient Egypt by turning the classroom into an Egyptian tomb/museum, published our writings and were on TV thanks to parents, and we had Turtle Town in first grade.”

These are the things Streeter will miss about the school as she moves to Boston, but she hopes to keep in touch, she said.

Streeter grew up primarily in Cincinnati, attending both public and Catholic schools, she said. She received a bachelor’s degree in education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a master’s of Education from Walden University.