Teacher rewards students who help him bounce back
Jim Walsh
WASHINGTON TWP. - Matt Groark, a teacher mourning his wife's miscarriage, expected a simple message of consolation when he found an envelope on his desk.
Instead, the Washington Township High School educator got a surprise from 22 juniors in his second-period health class.
Then Groark shocked them right back.
More:Police, tighter security for Cherry Hill schools
More:School threats 'in jest' have serious, lingering consequences for kids
“I thought it would be a card and a note, with maybe a Dunkin' Donuts gift card," said the 15-year teacher.
Instead, the envelope held a touching message from his students — and tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers game for Groark, an avid fan, and his wife, Kristin.
“What they did was just so heartfelt and kind,” said Groark, who had to step outside the classroom to gather his emotions..
Two days later, Groark faced the class in a very different mood.
Wearing a Sixers jersey and playing the team's theme song, the teacher announced he and his wife would not be attending the game alone.
The students would be coming, too — courtesy of the Sixers.
"They are a class operation,” Groark said of the team, which responded to a social-media blitz by the health and physical education teacher.
Groark, 40, noted he and his wife, an educator in the Berlin Borough district, learned they had lost their baby on Jan. 31. He shared his grief with his classes after returning to school a week later.
It was the fifth miscarriage in six years for the couple, who have two young sons.
“I’ve dealt with my share of heartbreak,” said Groark. “I can’t bring it to school and not show it. Everybody grieves and acts differently. For me, talking about it helps me.”
“We saw how much Mr. Groark was hurting, and we wanted to do something,” said Tina Ho, a student in the class. “We knew he loved the Sixers.”
A message on the card read in part: “We know you are in a tough place right now and we want to show our thanks for you using this situation as an example and teaching us, ‘Keep your head up even when life hits rock bottom.’”
Groark received the gift on Feb. 28, several weeks after breaking the news to his students.
“For them to still be thinking about it, I couldn’t help not wanting to make something happen for them,” he said.
“That’s what we do as teachers. If kids do good, you reward them.”
Groark noted a student had tweeted out a video of the teacher's reaction to the gift “and it caught some legs and started getting more than 1,000 likes.”
He decided to aim an online appeal at the Sixers, requesting tickets for his students at social-media sites and in emails.
“A couple of hours went by and I saw it catching on. It really blew up on Facebook,” said Groark, who also reached out to a former student who had interned with the team.
A Sixers executive soon contacted him to offer 30 tickets. The kids will join the Groarks at a March 13 home game against the Indiana Pacers.
“This all happened very fast,” said Groark. “It shows you the power of social media.”
When Groark disclosed the gift to his class, he said, “They lost it. They were pretty much beside themselves.”
At the same time, he acknowledged, “This has turned from a date into a chaperoned field trip with 22 kids.
“I’m going to owe my wife a date night.”
Jim Walsh; @jwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com