EPCHS Alum In The Spotlight: Audrey (Paetzel) Kraft, Class Of 1970

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Finding a job in education right out of college took on a much different process some 50 years ago than it does now.

“We were told not to bug anybody about a job, that there would be more people looking than openings and that we’d be lucky to get an offer anywhere,” said Audrey (Paetzel) Kraft, a 1970 graduate of Evergreen Park Community High School.

“I sent out applications everywhere,” she said. “To all the school districts in the suburbs. I said I’d even work in the office to get my foot in the door, I just wanted to teach so badly.”

Eventually, one of Kraft’s handwritten application letters got a response. It was from her own hometown school district: Evergreen Park Elementary School District 124.

“The only way to get a teaching job was to become an aide first,” said Kraft, who was hired as an instructional aide at Northwest Elementary School. “I played piano for their musical performances, and worked with a lot of different grade levels.”

But just one year later, a permanent opening became available in the same district at Southwest Elementary School, and Kraft never looked back. She taught first grade and second grade at Southwest for 41 years before retiring in 2016.

“I loved teaching second grade so much,” Kraft said. “At that age, kids already know their letters, sounds, and basic sight words. In that grade we take them from that level to reading stories and asking questions. Plus, they are still at an age where they love coming to school.”

Kraft remembers her motivation to become a teacher was sparked at EPCHS in Mr. Dystrup’s Social Studies class.

“He was so tuned in with his students,” Kraft remembers. “One time, he stopped class to go into the hall to talk to a former student. I could tell he was a great teacher who truly cares about other people.”

At EPCHS, Kraft was involved in choir and the Pep Club, which, as a member, she “would decorate the float for Homecoming in someone’s garage near the school.”

“I was also in a lot of the choir performances,” she said. “We would go on the bus to the SSC festival and put our voices out there. We’d get medals, and our duets were so fun.”

Kraft majored in elementary education at Elmhurst College and had the memory of a lifetime when she went to England for an entire month to help out at British schools.

“It was an amazing experience living with a family out there,” she said. “We took a weekend train trip to Edinburgh to see the Castle.”

But home has remained in Chicago’s Southland the entire time. After growing up in Evergreen Park and living in Oak Lawn for a few years, Kraft has been an Orland Park resident for more than 35 years.

“I love it here,” she said. “We have so many new restaurants and stores, and it’s always nice living close by.”