“Mrs. Sanchez was one of my favorite staff at Falk,” wrote Falk graduate Christian States. “She was like a second mother to me and [every student] at Falk.”
Kelly Sanchez passed away in November 2019, but is remembered as a bright light at the Stanley G. Falk School. Working at the Rossler Campus, Mrs. Sanchez made reading and writing an exciting adventure even as she faced the daunting task of preparing eleventh grade students for the rigorous NYS English Language Arts Regents exam.
Students often requested to be in Mrs. Sanchez’s class due to the positivity and authenticity. The passing rate of her students often exceeded 85%. She accomplished this by doing the “tough stuff” – putting in the time to develop relationships and truly seeking to understand each student’s point of view so that she could create learning experiences that were relevant, meaningful and motivating to them.
“It has been many years since my graduation, but I remember when she began as a Teacher Aide,” added former student Daniel Pugliese. “She would listen when you had a problem and never judged you on your faults.”
The staff at the Stanley G. Falk School wanted to commemorate Ms. Kelly Sanchez in a way that fit her ideals. They began to raise money to create The Kelly Sanchez Memorial Scholarship Award. This award is presented to a graduating senior who has strong commitment to pursue a higher level of education and demonstrates a love of reading and writing. This student also demonstrates character traits that mark Mrs. Sanchez’s legacy at Stanley G. Falk School – courage, compassion, and dedication.
“Kelly believed that any willing student deserved a chance to continue their education,” said Betty Telecky, Kelly’s mother. “For her, it was about seeing them develop into the people she knew they could become. The number of students who attended Kelly’s funeral showed right there how they all loved her and how she made a difference.”