Thank You, Ann Tell!
By Ruth Thatcher

Ann Tell, kindergarten teacher and KOREH L.A. school coordinator, retired in February after teaching for 16 years at Richland Avenue Elementary School and 38 years for LAUSD. After attending Richland as a child, Ann returned to become an outstanding teacher.

A well-loved and respected teacher, Ann Tell spent much of her time improving Richland’s literacy. She created programs like the Young Authors Fair, where students write and illustrate their own stories in book format. She participated with KOREH L.A. in a partnership with local law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, which brought many of the firm’s employees to Richland as KOREH L.A. volunteers. Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp generously restocked the school library. Allan Cutrow, a partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, had this to say about Ann:

“I really want to thank her for giving me the opportunity to allow Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp to partner with Richland Avenue School. It’s been immensely rewarding for me and I have members of the firm constantly stopping me in the hallway and thanking me for their experiences at Richland…when really they should be thanking Ann.”

Ann Tell also did a wonderful job of keeping track of KOREH L.A. volunteers at Richland since it began in 1999, making sure they were well-matched and even placing some of them in her own classroom. Sara Lynn Uller, a KOREH L.A. volunteer who has worked in Ann’s classroom since 2005, says that Ann is “a challenging, compassionate, and observant teacher…with her guidance I know I’m making a difference.”

Ann will be sorely missed by all who have had the pleasure of working with her. “Ann is the most dedicated, hardworking teacher I’ve ever seen…She still gets excited about teaching! Anyone who has her as a kindergarten teacher has got a great foundation,” says Linda Schwartz-Wright, KOREH L.A. volunteer at Richland since 2004.

In the words of Rosalie Minsk, KOREH L.A. Volunteer at Richland since 1999, “Ann is an extraordinary woman, and truly a gifted teacher. Richland won’t be the same without her.” The KOREH L.A. staff wishes to thank Ann Tell for her dedication to Richland Avenue Elementary School and to KOREH L.A.