Fontana music teachers retire after touching the lives of students over the years
By Anne Trautner
Assistant Editor
Mark Wenzel had just finished a difficult day of teaching music when he received a letter from a former student telling him how much of a difference he had made in that individual’s life.
“It brought me to tears and also made me realize what a rewarding, but challenging profession teaching can be,” said Wenzel, who is retiring from his position as the vocal music teacher at Fontana Elementary School.
During his 36 years working in education, Wenzel has heard back from numerous students. Those moments, such as when he received that letter some 15 years ago, are the ones he treasures most.
“My greatest satisfaction has come from having students return to visit and tell me how much they learned from me as a teacher, not just about music, but about life in general,” Wenzel said.
Wenzel, 58, began his teaching career in Hebron, Ill., as a choral/general music teacher for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. He has worked at for Fontana Joint 8 School District for the past 33 years, serving as the vocal music teacher for 28 years and school administrator for five years.
During Wenzel’s administrative tenure, Fontana School began a character education program that focused on the areas of respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, honesty and citizenship. The staff worked together to create monthly community group activities that focused on these traits in an effort to create an environment where all students felt safe and respected, so that they could focus on learning, Wenzel said.
In addition, Wenzel forged strong bonds with students by coaching several sports teams and serving as student council advisor for many years.
“To me, the essence of teaching was creating relationships. It just makes sense that if your students trust you and believe in you, they will work harder in your classroom,” Wenzel said.
As a music teacher, Wenzel was able to form a unique connection with his students in the classroom because he worked with the same kids for more than one year.
“I think that one of the reasons that I taught so long in the same place was that I truly got to know the students and nurture their growth in music. I could teach them the essentials to reading and interpreting music and then they could apply those elements to their singing as they got into middle school,” Wenzel said.
Two retirements
In the fall, Fontana music students will miss both Wenzel and Rusty Wulff, who is retiring from his position as music/band/technology teacher this year.
Wulff, who has taught band at the school for the past 21 years, was unavailable for comment.
“In my opinion, Mr. Wulff is truly a masterful teacher. He is intelligent, articulate and believes in developing relationships with his students. All I can say is that Fontana has been fortunate to have Mr. Wulff as a teacher and I have been fortunate to have been able to work with him,” Wenzel said.
Wenzel said he and Wulff worked as a team to create effective music programs for the students.
“Together, I believe we created a music program that the school and community could be proud of. We always advocated for each other’s programs and never forced students to choose between band or chorus,” Wenzel said.
Still, the community as a whole is responsible for the music programs’ success, according to Wenzel.
“Thank you Fontana, for always supporting the arts!” he said.
Wenzel’s future
Wenzel lives in Darien with his wife, Linda, who teaches first grade at Walworth Elementary School. They have three children.
After retirement, Wenzel plans to work with his lawn business, which he started in 1988. He may also teach part time, or give piano or voice lessons, he said.
“I am still open to looking at other positions in education. With three certifications, I have some flexibility. I guess you can say that I would like to explore all opportunities that present themselves. I am still too young to do nothing,” Wenzel said with a smile.
“Life is full of opportunities and I am just going to sit back and enjoy some time off and see what life presents to me,” he said.
Regardless of what his future brings, Wenzel hopes his students will remember one thing: He cared about each of them.
