Burks Elementary School Welcomes Anna Savage, 95 Year Old Educator, Back to the Classroom

On Tuesday, April 28th, Burks Elementary School in Monterey welcomed 95 year old Baxter teacher, Anna Savage back to the classroom. Savage, who had met some of the students prior to Tuesday, was greeted with lots of smiles and hugs inside the school’s gymnasium. “They came and hugged me and told me they loved me,” Savage said. Several students even gathered around to have their picture taken with her.

Savage’s grandson, Shawn is a teacher at Monterey High School, while his wife Mackenzie teaches Kindergarten at Burks. Savage took over Mackenzie’s class on Tuesday, where she spent a little over an hour teaching the students about different events throughout America’s history. This was no ordinary history lesson though — it was an event commemorating America’s upcoming semiquincentennial celebration. For those who know Savage and her teaching style this will likely come as no surprise.

In 1976, for the country’s bicentennial, Savage took over Baxter and its schools for a whole week, with students dressing up as colonial people and frontiersmen to create an unforgettable learning experience. One of Savage’s former students, Putnam County Archivist Glenn Jones, recently recounted this event during a presentation in Savage’s honor at the Baxter Depot Museum.

“I love teaching. I’d teach all the time if I could.”

Savage’s daughter Linda was on-hand for Tuesday’s history lesson at Burks, where students sailed the Atlantic in cardboard ships, encountered Pocahontas and John Smith, and participated in events like the Boston Tea Party. At the end of the program the students were gifted American flags and bells representing the Liberty Bell. Savage and her daughter then led the students in a parade around the gymnasium as “You’re a Grand Old Flag” played in the background.

Tuesday’s program was made all the more meaningful with the participation of Mackenzie and Shawn’s children, Savage’s great grandchildren. Savage, who has been teaching since around the age of 14, says, “I love teaching. I’d teach all the time if I could.” Last month she received the Citizenship Award from the Putnam County Commission. The certificate she received that night was framed by the Baxter Historical Society and now hangs in the Baxter Depot Museum.