Students and staff at Wainwright Middle School are honoring a teacher who recently passed away by starting Kindness Week on what would have been her 41st birthday. Rachel Dolphin was an educator for 17 years, including five years at Southwestern Middle School and nine years at Wainwright Middle School. 

Principal Mike Lowrey says there is no better way to honor Ms. Dolphin than to spread kindness and serve others. “Ms. Dolphin was a true student advocate who had a love and selfless approach with students,” says Lowrey. “Her kind and generous heart made a lasting impact on her students, co-workers, family and friends.”

Lowrey says the school came together Wednesday to wear red or pink to show our love towards Ms. Dolphin. On Thursday, students created a Kindness Wall. Ms. Dolphin loved animals, so every student received a paper with an animal on it and wrote a favorite memory of Ms. Dolphin, or a way they can spread kindness. These messages were posted on a Kindness Wall for all to see. On Friday, we asked everyone to wear something Wainwright or navy/white to be united together and support each other during this difficult time.

TSC Director of Special Education Kelly Gabauer says Dolphin served as the department head for special education in the TSC for many years: “During that time she was instrumental in creating professional development opportunities for not only staff who served students receiving special education services, but all staff.  Two of her big initiatives included transition training for teachers and co-teaching/inclusive practices. Rachel was an advocate for students and she worked tirelessly to make sure each student had the support they needed to be successful.”