Casey Weeks has no children of his own, but the Norcross High language arts teacher is as proud as a new college parent could ever be.
And he doesn’t hesitate to brag about his “kids.”
He’s got one at Harvard University. Another headed to Boston University. Several others at Georgia Tech and UGA.
Weeks flies their college pennants in his classroom. Collecting them has become a hobby.
“I have had at least 800 kids go to college so far,” said Weeks, a teacher for 12 years. “I love going to their high school graduations. I get to live through them, be proud of them and have a little taste of what it’s like to be a parent.”
His collection of colorful pennants create a collegiate border around his classroom, reminding students left behind that what they do in class has a direct connection to their future. He has 89 in all, with more promised. The numbers increase as seniors in his classes make up their minds about the colleges they want to attend and present Weeks with a pennant.
Melissa Sineway, 18, dreamed of the day she would be able to leave her mark on the wall of fame. She was a student of Weeks during her sophomore and senior years.
“I would look at [the pennants] when I was younger, and it was like ‘I can’t wait until I go to a really nice college and put my flag on the wall,’ " she said.
Sineway finally got her chance this week. She presented her teacher with a pennant from the University of Texas, Weeks’ home state.
“None of his students have gone to the University of Texas before,” Sineway said. “I thought it would be really cool to go to a college from his home state. Mr. Weeks would always tell us childhood stories.”
Weeks began his flag collection in 2004 when a student named Vicky Chau suggested the idea and presented him with a pennant from Amherst College. "For an entire year, I had only one pennant on the wall," he said.
Then, Weeks came up with an idea to increase his numbers. Every time a student asked him to write a college recommendation letter, Weeks would request a pennant in return to share in the joy of their college acceptance. Since then, the flags have been pouring in from students who got letters and even those who didn’t ask for recommendations.
Weeks hangs pennants from trade schools, duplicate colleges. He enjoys them all. Some have come as a total surprise.
“I recently got one from Harvard from a student who was in the Ph.D. program,” Weeks said. “He graduated in 2004, came back and gave me a pennant. I was shocked. It was very sweet of him to remember me.”
Last days of school
Friday was the last day for students in Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties.
Atlanta public schools: Tuesday
Gwinnett County: Wednesday
Clayton County: May 28
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