Celebrating an Educator and an Advocate
This summer, ProKids lost a fierce advocate in Sandy Harte, a career-long educator turned champion for ProKids children.
Well before joining our ranks as a ProKids volunteer, Sandy was on the vanguard of gifted education in the Indian Hill school district, as a teacher, a counselor, and later a principal. Not one but two ProKids staff members had the privilege of being taught by her — and were lucky enough to continue their learning decades later. “It was like fourth grade me, hopping up and down with my backpack,” Laine McDonnell, a ProKids Communication Manager, said of Sandy’s reintroduction to her life.
Julie Jacobson-Ruby, a CASA Manager/GAL, remembers Sandy as an educator who was amazingly patient, yet always challenged her students. Laine agreed, swearing that Sandy was the hardest teacher she ever had (all the way through grad school) — not because the work was impossible, but because Sandy assessed her students’ potential and wouldn’t let them get away with anything less.
When Barbie famously said “math class is tough” in ‘92, Sandy had Laine and her classmates write letters to Mattel to stand up for smart girls. By the time Laine had graduated, Sandy was running the school. After all, according to Laine, Sandy was “devastatingly smart” herself.
As a parent surrogate on ProKids’ Education Team, Sandy assessed the complex needs of our kids, who too often start at a disadvantage and continue to lose academic progress when placed in foster care. Her expertise allowed for creative solutions tailor-made to our children. And her advocacy ensured that countless kids — whether diagnosed with learning disabilities or traumatized by abuse and neglect — had access to accommodations. She even acted as a consultant to ProKids CASA Managers as they took on their own responsibilities in educational decision making.
According to Charlotte Caples, a ProKids Advocacy Director, she was well respected from the classroom setting to the system context. As a regular attendee of system-wide meetings, Sandy frequently represented ProKids in rooms full of professionals — representatives from school districts, legal aid, juvenile court, and more. She was never afraid to ask a question or express an opinion, was soft spoken yet determined. “She just fit in,” Charlotte said.
And of course, Sandy did even more, choosing to strengthen ProKids as a member of the Board of Trustees. Though she was relatively new to finances and fundraising, Sandy was undaunted — and often the first in a meeting to ask the question: How will this affect the children?
Her love of learning, her sense of humor, and her drive to make our children’s lives better will remain an inspiration.
“One of my proudest moments was working with (Sandy) at ProKids and showing her I had followed her lead to serve children,” Laine said.
From her former students to all of us at ProKids, Sandy will be missed, and her memory will be cherished.