By NANCY HILER
That kids in return really, really loved Flatte, and that she did indeed make a difference to her students, became obvious as soon as news of her sudden death began to spread last week among the close-knit school where she worked.
Flatte (pronounced flat-TAY), 47, of East Meadow, died of double pneumonia on June 28. She had just completed her 24th year of teaching at Saw Mill Road Elementary School in North Bellmore. Scores of her colleagues and former students, some in their late 20s with whom Flatte had kept in touch over the years, attended her standing-room-only funeral on July 1 at Boulevard Riverside Chapel in Hewlett. They and many others also descended on the elementary school that evening to reminisce about her warmth and caring.
"She's the fabric of the school, one of the most outstanding teachers I've ever known," said Flatte's close friend and colleague, Saw Mill second-grade teacher Carolyn Hopkins. "She kept in touch with students throughout the years, and was truly looked up to and cherished."
Since Flatte had no children of her own, and no siblings or extended family, her longtime friends and colleagues kept a bedside vigil at Winthrop University Hospital while she was ill. They also took care of the funeral arrangements, including escorting and transporting her elderly parents, Edward and Laura Flatte, from separate nursing homes to the service.
"The service was packed," said Toni Ann Cincotta, assistant to the North Bellmore superintendent of schools. Cincotta was a longtime friend and the principal at Saw Mill Elementary for more than a decade when Flatte taught there. "Usually you go to services, and it's family attending and those obligated to go, but in this case everyone was there for Michele. She was able to create her own family."
"She made every single kid feel special," recounted her close friend Peggy Marenghi, the principal of New Hyde Park Road School in New Hyde Park. Marenghi taught with Flatte at Saw Mill for many years, and nominated her for the town Pathfinder Award. "She had just the best sense of humor. To know Michele was to lover her."
"She changed the way I saw the world," said Grace Cramsie, Board of Education president, whose children were taught by Flatte. "I didn't think there could ever be a fitting service, but it was. Teachers spoke. Friends spoke. Children spoke. It was warm; it was funny; it was beautiful."
A teaching life
Born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Flatte moved with her parents to East Meadow when she was 10, Marenghi said. She attended Barnum Woods Elementary, East Meadow Middle School and East Meadow High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Oneonta and a master's in education from Hofstra University. Soon afterward she joined the staff at Saw Mill, where she stayed throughout her career.
She was one of 10 women honored by the Town of Hempstead for their outstanding contributions to the community this spring. At the time of her death, Flatte had just finished teaching a first-grade class, although she had taught first through fifth grades during her career.
"I realized very early on that not all kids are going home to milk and cookies," she said in a March interview, adding that when she got to know families, she realized that some children did not have it easy. She said she stopped asking children to do projects at home and bring things in from home once she realized that caring, involved and financially better-off parents often provided more for their children, making others feel bad and leaving them at a disadvantage. "It's an even playing field in my classroom," she said.
Flatte also helped her students understand the world outside the classroom. She and Marenghi founded a group at the school called Students Obliged to Uplift Lives, or SOUL. They encouraged students to be community-minded and participate in various charitable efforts. These included Jonathan's Gifts of Love, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the St. Christopher Otille Orphanage and the Special Olympics' Games for the Physically Challenged.
"She was kind, sincere and genuine," said her former student Nicole Carney, 19.
"She did everything for others; she was selfless, humble," said Ashley Rosenblum, 18, whom Flatte taught in second grade.
"It's a tremendous loss," said Superintendent of Schools Arnold Goldstein. "Michele was a terrific person, very special." On the district Web site, Goldstein posted a letter to parents that included a link to resources for children coping with death, and arranged for grief counseling at the school.
Friends and colleagues are planning a memorial tribute to Flatte in the fall.
Comments about this story? NHiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 234.
Reporter's note: When I interviewed Michele Flatte in March about her earning the town's Pathfinder Award, we became instant friends. She was nervous about being interviewed, accustomed to being the one asking the questions and listening, not comfortable talking about herself. She relaxed and opened up, however, when the topic turned to the children she taught. And she was quick with a joke. After the story was published, she told me she was happy with it and hugged me when I ran into her at a Board of Education meeting a month later. I understand why she was much loved. -- N.H.
