Grade 4/5 teacher Cheryl Teetaert enjoyed a special visit in April from a former student, Reed Harris ‘94, and his parents, Inge and Reed. Reed was home visiting from Santa Monica, where he works for KUD International, a program management and development company that specializes in the development of large-scale public-private projects. These projects include aquariums, museums, professional football and baseball stadiums, and educational facilities. Reed is currently Assistant to the President.

What prompted the visit was a special fondness Reed and his parents share for GPA. The timing was particularly appropriate, as it came during Mrs. Teetaert’s final year of teaching before retirement. Reed was one of her first students at the Academy.

Reed came to GPA as a second grader while his sister, Tiffany ‘99, began in the Early School. The family lives in New Baltimore, and for eleven years Mrs. Harris made the commute back and forth to school, dropping the children off at 7 a.m. so she could arrive on time for her teaching job at Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shores.

Says Mrs. Harris: “Everything at the Academy was the best. I don’t regret a minute of it. There were times my husband and I struggled financially, but we decided to make an investment in our children’s education, and we don’t regret a penny. We can’t say enough about the teachers. They are topnotch with Master’s degrees and above.”

Reed agrees with his mother’s assessment. “The quality of the instructors at the Academy was a defining characteristic that sets that school apart from any other school in the country.” Reed has special memories of his second grade teacher, Mrs. DuPont, who made him “feel at home right away,” his third grade teacher, Mrs. Thomas  - “What a fun person! Class was never dull and her fun and easy going personality put a smile on my face each day!” -  and, of course, 4/5 teacher Mrs. Teetaert. She was the teacher Reed felt closest to. “She treated each of her students like one of her own children. She truly cared about us and our future. After fifth grade, I hated to move on and leave her.”

Reed did in fact move on to the Middle School, and after graduating he attended De La Salle High School. It was there that he first noticed how his hard work at the Academy had paid off. “I was ahead of everyone,” he says. “As a freshman, I was put into honors and AP classes with sophomores and juniors. This was strictly a credit to the Academy. All the students had this opportunity. Everyone was brought up together and pushed to the same degree to go the extra distance and learn the material.”

Reed went on to the University of Michigan, where he received a B.S. in Industrial and Operations Engineering. Once again his hard work paid off, and he has enjoyed two years at a company that he says is one of a kind in the industry. But most importantly, he enjoys his memories of the Academy, from competing for a piece of candy from Mrs. Teetaert’s infamous “jolly jar” to the critical role his teachers played in molding his study habits and work ethic.