Schools
Lincoln Elementary School Principal Surprised by Pedicab, Police Escort on Last Day
After 15 years at Lincoln Elementary School, Mary Ann Kalis is escorted to work one last time along street lined with well-wishers.
Mary Ann Kalis may never forget her morning commute to her last day of work.
Friday morning, the principal of Lincoln Elementary School was picked up at her home on Prospect Avenue Friday morning by an Elmhurst Pedicab, driven by Dawn Kerrigan.
Elmhurst police officer Mike Reiman, the D.A.R.E. officer who has worked with with 5th graders at Lincoln and other Elmhurst schools for the past 14 years, led the parade in a squad car.
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Over 500 hand made yard signs lined the parkway enroute to the school, with sentiments like "We will miss you," and "You Rock!"
“[Mrs. Kalis] knew she was getting picked up, but she didn’t know how,” Kerrigan said. “Thank goodness Mother Nature held out and it worked.”
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Kerrigan added that all along the route, going north on Prospect and west on Vallette, students and parents lined up along the way, cheering and shouting out well wishes.
Kalis was presented with gifts like coffee, doughnuts, flowers, cards and an apple along the way.
Mia Nicosia stood on Vallette, waiting to catch a glimpse of Kalis in the pedicab. Even though she is a sixth grader now, she has fond memories of her years at Lincoln and Mrs. Kalis as her principal.
“She is very nice and always wanted everyone to be happy and peaceful around the school,” she said.
William Aylesworth, a second grader, agreed. “She’s always walking around the school, doing something,” he said.
Officer Mike Reiman, who is active in the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, was honored to be asked to be the official police escort.
“I’ve been here 14 years, so she had one year under her belt when I got here,” Reiman said. “They love her, and they earned the Presidential Award under her, and all kinds of good things. I would imagine a lot of that has to do with her.”
At the front entrance of the school Lincoln Elementary, Kalis was greeted with balloons and a crowd of students, parents, faculty and staff as she made her way through the well-wishers.
“I didn’t expect all of that,” she said, just before she was surrounded by students waiting for a hug.
“Look at this,” laughed Kalis. “This is the day of hugs. This is all we’re going to do today, right?”
Charlie Eipert, a 4th grader, got a chance to stand with Kalis while his mom, Debbie Orth, snapped a photo of the two. When asked what he would miss most about Kalis as his principal, Eipert thought a moment.
“Everything,” he said.
