Educators aren't just principals, teachers

Now comes the story of Al Weber.

Weber, as Daily Herald reporter Sheila Ahern wrote last week, was not what we normally think of when we hear the word educator. He was building and grounds supervisor at Rolling Meadows High School for 25 years until his retirement in 2001.

But Weber was using a teacher's eyes when he met Billy Anderson in the mid-1990s.

Billy's speech and social interaction were severely restricted because he has Down and Asperger syndromes, but Weber connected with the youth. He taught him how to do custodial jobs and encouraged the boy to hang out with him around school.

"As time went by, I guess he grew to be a real friend to me," Weber would say when he and Billy delivered the game ball for Rolling Meadows High's 2000 homecoming football game. "It makes me feel good to think I've done something."

Little did Weber, who died of cancer shortly after he retired, know what he had done.

Today, at 28, Billy Anderson still puts to use his custodial knowledge at Rolling Meadows High, volunteering every school day from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

He has come out of his shell, his parents say, and they're understandably happy about that. So happy that they established a $1,000 scholarship in Weber's honor.

But it's not the typical scholarship, put in place to promote exceptional academic, artistic or athletic accomplishments. The Al Weber-Billy Anderson scholarship promotes kids who simply work hard.

"Kids who are the best athletes and kids who get the best grades are honored all the time," Lori Anderson, Billy's mother, told Ahern. "This scholarship is for kids who need a ladder. It's for kids who try really hard."

The scholarship is a splendid thing in its own right. Sure, there are plenty of exceptional kids who won't see their potential realized without some sort of helping hand. This award recognizes that there also are plenty of hard-working everyday kids who won't be able to achieve all they can without a little help.

But, even more than that, we are touched by the act of insightful mentoring that started it all.

It was not Al Weber's job to keep a special-needs kid occupied. He was paid to keep the buildings and grounds at Rolling Meadows High School in top shape, and that surely was responsibility enough.

But his work with Billy Anderson -- now continued by his successor Gary Latas -- led to a relationship that not only provided an example for others but also gave the young man himself motivation and inspiration to last a lifetime.

Teachers and administrators deserve high credit for the important role they play in shaping the minds and personalities of our young people. But the Weber-Anderson story reminds us that much of what is involved in the education of a child happens outside the classroom -- sometimes even with a broom in the hall.