St. Albert the Great Teacher Gets Call To The Hall After 40 Years

BURBANK, IL — If third grade teacher Debbie Karr gets any more surprises celebrating her four decades at St. Albert the Great School in Burbank, she says she’s going to have a heart attack. A few weeks ago, her colleagues threw her a surprise party for her 40th anniversary, but they had one more trick up their sleeve.

“I’m usually the party planner around here,” she said. “They totally got me.”

Debbie – “Mrs. Karr” to the youngsters – casually strolled into the school activity hall Wednesday morning, where students were gathered cavorting with special guest White Sox mascot Southpaw.

All week students have been celebrating their end-of-the-year spirit week. Tuesday was designated “White Sox Day” in honor of Debbie’s favorite baseball team. Students came to school decked out in Sox gear.

It wasn’t until a covering was removed from a banner on the wall announcing Debbie as the school’s 2024-2025 hall-of-fame inductee, that she, as well as students, had any idea what the assembly was about.

Mrs. Karr is loved by every student at St. Albert the Great

“My mind was elsewhere,” Debbie said, who also works part time for the Sox in suite services during the summer. “I was in a meeting. I thought I was coming to see Southpaw. By no means did I think I was being inducted in the school hall of fame.”

Making her way through students' hugs amid a blast of confetti guns, Debbie graciously accepted a dozen roses from Southpaw.

“She is the most beloved teacher at St. Albert,” said Erica Ferreri, the school’s marketing director. “Everyone wants to be in her class. She is just dedicated to her class.”

Debbie started teaching at St. Albert the Great in 1984. She grew up in St. Bede Parish. Her grandmother taught school at St. Albert, and they would attend church there. When Debbie finished her student teaching stint at St. Bede, she substituted at both schools until she was offered a position at St. Albert.

“I’ve made lovely, lovely friends,” Debbie said, who lives in Oak Lawn. “That’s probably why I stayed.”

Only a handful of teachers in the United States reach four decades at the same school, but not only has Debbie taught 40 years at the same school, she’s done it in the same classroom.

“I have a refrigerator and a microwave,” Debbie said. “Everything except a bed. I’ve been very blessed.”

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Debbie spent 19 of those years teaching second grade, one year of first, and the last 20 years teaching third. Are kids different in 2024 from those she taught in 1984?

“The discipline is different. I don’t think kids today are more mature than in the past, but they’re exposed to a lot more,” she said. “Kids are kids."

Her fellow teachers say Debbie is loved by every student in the building. She maintains order in her classroom by threatening to give her class 40 math problems to solve if they don’t behave.

“I let them know that when they’re with me they’re safe,” Debbie said.

Even though she has taught hundreds of students over the years, she’s still sad to see her classes move on at the end of the year, including her current class, who she describes as being kind of chatty.

“It’s sad to let them all go, even the most irascible group,” Debbie said. “I’ve been taking care and loving them. We’ve been together seven hours for 180 days.”

Debbie’s children have also followed their mother’s footsteps into the teaching profession. Her son, Alex, is an English teacher and coach at Marist High School; her daughter, Caitlin, will begin teaching special education at Palos East Elementary School in Palos Heights.

Each year, board members, staff and faculty select an inductee for the St. Albert the Great School Hall of Fame. Debbie will be joining the ranks of second-grade teacher Marlene Fitch, who taught at St. Al’s for 47 years; Thomas Spratt, an alum and parishioner; second-grade teacher Jeanne Merlo and eighth-grade teacher Diane Klimek; custodian Joe Ferreri; and WGN Morning News host Robin Baumgarten, who grew up in Burbank and attended St. Albert. An induction ceremony is planned for January 2025 at 115 Bourbon Street.

“I love what I do,” Debbie said. “I don’t consider it going to work, I consider it going to school.”