Support rolling in for teacher’s family
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/64938/
BENTONVILLE — As news of a Bentonville school teacher’s unexpected death spreads, community members are reaching out to support the family and express their own grief.
Heidi Meyer, 36, collapsed Friday outside the Arend Arts Center at Bentonville High School after superintendent Gary Compton’s annual backto-school celebration speech. Meyer was taken by ambulance to Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville, where she died shortly after noon. Meyer had been an English teacher at Washington Junior High School since 2000.
One WJHS teacher, Bradley Webber, asked to be reassigned to teach Meyer’s classes. A long-term substitute teacher has been assigned to cover Webber’s classes until a permanent replacement can be found, WJHS principal Kim Garrett said.
Webber said Tuesday that he asked for the assignment to honor Meyer’s memory.
“(Meyer ) was looking forward to the coming year and having the opportunity to implement new reading and writing strategies into the curriculum. She had a passion for inspiring students to write, ” Webber said. “ When the accident occurred, I knew that no substitute could capture the summer’s worth of enthusiasm. Since I had worked closely with Meyer and knew her vision for the year, I felt that the least I could do to honor her memory here at the school would be to teach eighth-grade English her way — a fun, writing-intensive atmosphere that promotes creativity and learning. ”
A scrapbook of letters written to Meyer’s daughter, Avery, has also been started. The idea started with former teacher Erin Valentine, who was one of Meyer’s many friends, and many have jumped in to help with the project. The scrapbook will hold letters that people have written to Avery about her mother.
Hand-written letters will be accepted at Washington Junior High School until 9 a. m. Friday. Letters may be e-mailed to Valentine, who will then print the e-mails to be included in the scrapbook. Valentine’s e-mail address is evalent @ rocketmail. com. She asks that people sending an e-mail letter put “ Dear Avery” in the subject line.
As of Tuesday afternoon, memorial and funeral arrangements had not been determined. Meyer’s family created a Web site to honor her memory and to provide service information as it becomes available. That Web site is www. heidichristinemeyer. com.