Called back to their careers

Jim Jarosz has been spending the last few weeks wondering what he's worth.

It's the first thing people do when they lose a job. What are you worth on paper? What are you worth in the job market?

But Jarosz, 56, never wondered what he was worth as a reading teacher at Hamilton International Middle School.

The curled covers of the books on his classroom shelves told him he was effective; that kids were reading, progressing, some as many as three grade levels in a single year.

So being let go by the Seattle School District in May seemed especially senseless.

Jarosz was one of 160 teachers to receive a reduction-in-force notice as the district wrestled a $34 million budget shortfall.

In response, Jarosz conducted a silent protest in front of the district headquarters June 1.

"I just wished they could have waited a little longer, to see if maybe they could find the money," Jarosz told me then.

This week, they did.

Jarosz was notified by e-mail that he was one of 57 teachers recalled for the 2009-2010 year.

Now, 103 teachers remain on the RIF list, "and we're hoping to continue to recall teachers as the summer progresses," said district spokesman David Tucker, adding that the district is still waiting for retirement and leave notices.

Jarosz's recall was possible for several reasons, according to the district's e-mail: stimulus funding, enrollment adjustments and budget savings from the hiring freeze.

Jarosz didn't want to sound ungrateful, but he was puzzled.

"They say stimulus money, but they don't tell you how much," he said. "And did they not know about it before?"

I wondered the same thing.

"You go through a lot of stress when you lose your job," he said. "Was it really necessary?"

That question may never be answered. Best to be positive.

"Now I can sleep at night," Jarosz said with a sigh. "Now I can relax. There's no more tension in my shoulders."

And what was going to be one of the last days of Jarosz's teaching career felt like a new start.

Jarosz brought in boxes of doughnuts and bags of new books — two for each student — tied with a yellow ribbon, and personally inscribed by the teacher.

What is Jarosz worth? Ask them.

"When I was younger, teachers never helped me, they never stayed focused on me. And he took the time for me," said Almas Ali, 13, an eighth-grader.

"It's a lot of things, man," said Elias Hassan, 13, a seventh-grader and native of Somalia.

"When I came here I didn't know how to read," he said. "When I heard he wasn't coming back, I felt sad because, you know, this is the best teacher I ever had."

Jarosz presented Hassan with two books: A hardcover of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," by Mark Twain, and a paperback copy of "The Adventures of Frog and Toad," by Arnold Lobel.

Hassan untied the ribbon and cracked the cover of the Twain book. He leaned over the first page and read the inscription, his lips moving along.

I waited and watched. Did he want to share?

" 'You have become a reader,' " he read, as Jarosz walked over.

" 'En-... ' What's that?"

"Enjoy," Jarosz told him.

"Enjoy these adventures."

Hassan smiled and sat back.

"A reader," he said.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

For her, it was "One Horse Farm."