We are sad to report that beloved elementary school teacher Celia Hartman succumbed to Covid-19 last January. Photo Credit: Telegraph Herald, Iowa
We are sad to report that the educational community has lost yet another beloved educator to Covid-19. Celia Hartman, an elementary school teacher from River Ridge, Illinois, succumbed to the disease on Jan. 3, 2022. She was just 32 years old.
Celia was born on Dec. 29, 1989, in Dubuque, Iowa, although she was raised in Elizabeth. After her graduation from River Ridge High School in 2008, Celia earned her Bachelor’s degree from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, in 2012. Later she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree from American College of Education.
Celia was hired in 2013 to teach second grade at River Ridge Elementary School in Hanover, Illinois. In 2021, she switched to teaching preschool. Throughout her years as an educator, Celia had a reputation for being passionate about her career, and she harbored a genuine love for every one of her students.
Celia’s concern for her students went beyond the classroom. In 2018, she worked with colleagues Tammy Smith and Jen Laity to apply for a grant to help her young charges. The $500 grant, awarded to educators in the first ten yers of their career who want to pursue a service project, was part of the IEA’s Schools and Community Outreach by Educators program. The service project Celia chose to support is Cats Care, a program which helps support the personal needs of students, including providing personal hygiene items, clothing, shoes, and eyeglasses. Celia and her colleagues helped establish Cats Care along within the River Ridge Education Association.
Celia will certainly be missed by her students and by her colleagues.
