Liverpool — By all accounts, Kristen Russell was an excellent teacher.
Russell, a math teacher, was known for going above and beyond for her students and providing support wherever it was needed, academically and emotionally.
Now, sadly, that pillar is gone.
Hugs for SRE
Here’s what the schools in the area did to help out Soule Road Elementary after the school lost a teacher last month:
Chestnut Hill Elementary:
- Sent school counselor to SRE
- Sent cards to SRE
- Staff provided SRE lunch from Angotti’s
Elmcrest Elementary
- Sent numerous cards, emails and well wishes
- Will be sending food soon
Liverpool Elementary
- Staff sent homemade love by baking cookies and sending four large trays to SRE
- Staff also sent coffee
Liverpool High School
- Sent their counselors, social workers and psychologists to provide support for students and staff
- Staff sent lunch to SRE
Long Branch Elementary:
- Staff sent breakfast to SRE
Morgan Road Elementary:
- Fifth-graders made bookmarks for SRE fifth-graders
- Staff purchased ice cream sandwiches for the SRE fifth-graders
- Staff bought SRE staff lunch from Moe’s
McNamara Elementary (Baldwinsville)
*Staff sent breakfast to SRE from Panera Bread
Russell, who taught fifth grade at Soule Road Elementary in Liverpool, passed away unexpectedly last month at the age of 34.
She is survived by her husband, Mark, whom she married in 2008, and her four children, 12-year-old Gavin, 6-year-old Audrey and 2-year-old twins Emery and Mac, as well as her mother, Donna (John) Darling of Pulaski; father, Ken Nassoiy of Pulaski; one brother, Thurman (Brent) Nassoiy-Robinson of Houston; two sisters, Lisa (Sean Michaels) Haskins of Fairport and Gennifer Masters of Lakeland; maternal grandparents, Mary Manwaring of Auburn and Robert Manwaring of Mexico; and several nieces and nephews.
Russell was predeceased by her brother, Justin Nassoiy, who passed away, March 18, 2003.
But it wasn’t just her family she left behind. Russell’s passing left a huge void at Soule Road Elementary, where she had taught for the last nine years. Staff and students alike grieved the loss of the bright, kind teacher who had been a presence in their lives for so long.
continued — Fortunately, schools throughout the community have been reaching out to let them know they’re not alone. A number of schools in Liverpool and an elementary school in Baldwinsville have provided staff lunches, treats for the students, handmade gifts and other tokens to let the Soule Road community know they’re thinking of the school in its time of need.
Jane Nadolski, principal of McNamara Elementary in Baldwinsville, which provided breakfast to the SRE staff from Panera Bread, said it was a natural reaction from her staff when they learned of SRE’s loss.
“I’m very fortunate to have the staff I have. They’re very generous,” Nadolski said. “They came to me and said they thought it was something they should do.”
Nadolski said she and her staff were uncomfortable with the idea of being recognized for just doing what they thought was right.
“I told my staff I got this call [from the newspaper], and they said, ‘We would rather know we did this act of kindness and move on,’” she said. “Nobody wanted any kind of accolades or anything.”
Indeed, no one from the Liverpool Central School District would comment on what they’d done for SRE for the same reason. They simply did this act of kindness and moved on.
In a statement, SRE Principal Jeanne Brown expressed gratitude on behalf of her staff for everything the other schools had done.
“Our SRE school family is overwhelmed by the support and caring that we have experienced from every school within the district,” Brown wrote. “We have received emails, cards, phone calls, hugs, and breakfast/lunch supplied by all the buildings. Every counselor within the district came to our building to support our children and staff. We had additional counseling staffing for a full week as well. The district administrators and my colleagues at the building level all reached out to help us as we moved through the grieving process toward healing. We cannot begin to thank everyone for the kindness and caring through a very difficult time.”