Former Wheeler teachers remember the past

Although some haven’t worked at Wheeler Avenue School for 30 or even 40 years, a group of retired teachers, administrators and secretaries still get together to talk about old times.

A group of more than two dozen former staff members gathered at the Concord Diner in Valley Stream on May 5. It’s been an annual tradition for about two decades.

Toby Surhoff, a fourth-grader teacher there in the 1960s, arranges all the gatherings. She described the group as “tight-knit” and said it includes teachers who worked at Wheeler as early as 1955 and as late as the 1990s. “These people, we’re all like family,” Surhoff said. “Wheeler was an incredible place to teach.”

The leader of those teachers was Bob Dever, principal of Wheeler Avenue for 26 years before retiring in 1979. His brother was James A. Dever, namesake of another elementary school in District 13.

Dever said as principal, he loved the interaction with teachers, students and parents. He said he also liked to solve problems and described his leadership style as tough, but fair.

Before becoming principal of Wheeler, Dever was an assistant principal at the Howell Road and Corona Avenue (now James A. Dever) schools. He also was a sixth-grade teacher at Wheeler Avenue and taught in the Oceanside School District. Dever said that teachers respected him because he once was in the classroom. “They weren’t alone,” he said. “The principal was one of them.”

Dever said he always kept a jar of jelly beans in his office, which was kept full by the children. When a student did a good deed in class, they were allowed to come to his office and take a jelly bean. He was also principal when the school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1975. Teachers dressed up in 1920s attire to mark when the school was first built.

Emily Schreiber, who taught second and third grade at Wheeler Avenue for five years, said she loved working for Dever. “He really was the best boss,” she said. “He appreciated everything.”

Schreiber left Wheeler in 1970 to have children. “In those days,” she said, “you had to leave before you started showing a belly.” Schreiber returned to teaching 18 years later in the Malverne School District, before retiring in 2001. She is also a graduate of Valley Stream South High School and president of the alumni association.

Kathy Maggio Sorice taught first and second grade, and remedial reading, during her tenure at Wheeler from 1958-69. She said teaching first grade was very rewarding because students learned so much that year. Children did not learn as much in kindergarten as they do today, Sorice explained, so first grade was where they received their academic foundation.

Jack Carroll was the physical education teacher in District 13 for 38 years, mostly at Wheeler Avenue. He retired in 1988. “We had a great faculty,” he said. “We had a great administration and the kids were super. They made it all worthwhile.”

The retired Wheeler staff members were greeted by the district’s current administration — Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison, assistant superintendents Linda Roth and Meredith Brosnan, Wheeler Principal Christine Zerillo and James A. Dever Principal Darren Gruen. Lison shared some of the new innovations in education in recent years.

Zerillo said Dever has stopped down at the school several times during her seven years as principal. She said he has gotten to see the technology now being used in classrooms, as well as other upgrades to the building.

The reunion was her first chance to meet a lot of others who are part of the school’s history. “It was exciting to see former Wheeler teachers with the same zeal for teaching,” Zerillo said. “Our present staff is proud to continue that tradition.”