We had retired a key science teacher in the spring, and had hired and onboarded a teacher in the summer, only to have her leave us in early August. To say the least we were in a great time of need and at that point God brought us Karen Trudeau, who not only graciously stood in the gap for us and stayed on to serve at JRHS for a final decade of her career. Karen scheduled her retirement with us for June of 2021, and without the awards banquet last year, we are honored to make this award to her this year.
Over her years at JRHS she taught a variety of Science and Math courses and led our increased efforts to support learners. In the classroom students benefited from this master teacher who illustrated the importance of learning through great lesson plans and learning experiences for her students. Karen’s compassion and gentle leadership in the classroom affected the hearts of and minds of her students. Perhaps raising and sending forth 8 of her own children has something to with it, or Perhaps her deep and mature faith and understanding of Christ in our lives, or Perhaps her life experiences that formed and molded her allowed her to have such an impact. Several of her graduates point back to the foundation they received in Karen’s classes as their source of inspiration moving into Health Science fields. There are some great nurses, emts, pharmacists, LNAs and the like out working in area hospitals, who credit their start to Karen T.
For the Faculty Karen modeled loyalty, excellence, honor, empathy, and steadfastness to the Mission of JRHS. She was a great team player who was always ready to share a word of wisdom with a coworker. Whenever there was a new initiative she was 100% behind making change happen. When our school made the decision to pursue Accreditation she took seriously the need to document our courses. We embarked on a 3 year quest to document using the Understanding by Design framework and now that she has retired, our new teacher has inherited a robust documented curriculum that is ready to deliver to a new generation of students.
Over the years Karen was a key leader for our annual mission trips both near and far. Taking students to Japan and as close as Manchester, NH. Her motherly skills helped comfort and care for the students during these times of transition and growth in their lives. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to help provide a great experience from being the cook and food coordinator to driving the needed supplies to the location.
A few year’s back, we realized we needed to offer more guidance and support structures to our students. We created the role of Student Advocate, and there was no better person to fill that role than KT. As well as founding and establishing the position for the school, Karen was the source of support and help for many a struggling student.
We are thankful God brought Karen to us. Her dedication of fulfilling the JRHS mission has made a difference in the lives of many students and because of this we are sure many others. Tonight’s Comenius Award could go to no finer person than Karen Trudeau!