Outstanding Educator or Staff Member
Est. 2013
Inducted 2021
Ken Mitroff
Honored Educator
Aurora Schools 1979-2014
Teacher - Coach - A.C.S. Administrator Career Based Intervention Program
“Students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”
Ken Mitroff served his entire 35 year career in the Aurora City Schools where he served as a teacher, administrator, coach and the director of the Connections for Success Program, a program he created for at risk Junior and Senior students.
Born in Amherst, Ohio, Ken attended and graduated from the Avon Lake City Schools where his father was the assistant superintendent and later superintendent. It was during his time as a student in Avon that Ken developed a love of sports. His high school head football coach, Rick DeMatte, played a huge role in his life and career choices and served as the best man in his wedding.
Ken graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Secondary Education in 1979 and a Master’s degree in Secondary Administration in 1984. He moved to Kent in 1975 where he and his wife Darlene raised their three children: Angela, Andy, and Allison.
Ken was employed by the Aurora City Schools as a Physical Education teacher in 1979 just three days before the start of the school year.
He never looked back.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Ken immediately pursued his love of sports and became the head coach of the Girls Basketball and Softball teams. Over the years his coaching responsibilities would include being Track Coach, as well as Boys and Girls Basketball Coach at the Middle School. At the High School level Ken served as assistant Baseball, Basketball, and Football Coach. He was also the Head Coach of the High School Girls Basketball and Softball Teams. It is hard to imagine that any one teacher ever coached as many different teams, at different levels, and influenced as many athletes as did Ken Mitroff.
In the academic realm, many students and colleagues know and remember Ken’s seven year tenure as the assistant principal at Aurora High School. He had also served as a Department Head, Student Council Advisor and Summer school teacher. Ken’s years as an even tempered, good humored, and patient assistant principal were marked by a resiliency in facing challenges of an ever growing school population with overcrowded conditions, yet marked by award winning innovative educational reform.
Ken spent the last 15 years of his career facilitating the Connections For Success Program, an innovative program he created. This program provided at risk High School Juniors and Seniors with a special curriculum, monitoring, intervention, and life-skills that connected and prepared them for a vocational or post-secondary schooling and success. As Ken’s nominator stated, “The number of students Ken saved are in the hundreds. To this day Ken still gets calls/emails/texts from former students thanking him for “believing in them” and sharing how their lives would have been different without him. His ability to create meaningful relationships with his students helped him influence so many lives in such a positive way.”
Since his retirement in 2014, Ken has worked as a CBI consultant, a K.S.U. Instructor and as a RDP Sportswear salesman. He is also an avid boater and landscaper. He and his wife Darlene still live in Kent and are enjoying their grandchildren William and Stella.
Ken, it is with pleasure that your school district, friends, colleagues, and A.H.S. Alumni join those hundreds of students you taught, coached, and saved during an exemplary career by saluting you as an Honored Educator for a job well done!
Inducted 2019
Ted Linden
Aurora Elementary and
Middle School Teacher
1980 – 2014
"Find a job you enjoy doing and you will never have to work a day in your life." – Mark Twain
Ted Linden was raised in Berea, Ohio, and graduated from Berea High School in 1975. He attended Kent State University undecided on his major, but after taking an elementary education course decided that education was his interest and passion. Ted never regretted that decision.
After graduating from Kent State, he spent a year teaching 7th and 8th grades in a very small rural school in Morgan County, Ohio. That school had a total of 37 students in the 7th and 8th grades, the grades he mainly taught. Although the school lacked many of the modern conveniences of the day, it was a great start to his career.
Desiring to return to northeast Ohio, he was fortunate to be hired by Aurora in the fall of 1980. During his first few years of teaching in Aurora, Ted taught many different grade levels, from grades 4 – 8 and all of the subjects. Eventually he settled into teaching fifth grade, which was for many years at Harmon, and then moved to Leighton when that school opened.
Ted believes he could not have asked for a better place to begin a teaching career than at Harmon. While there, he was able to learn the art of teaching from the best in the field. Ted states “There was such a joy in teaching at Harmon, in helping students succeed, and in having fun at the same time. The Harmon workroom allowed me to interact with all the great teachers, bounce ideas off of them, and sometimes, just sit and absorb what was being said as we all looked at ways we could help our students.”
The greatest joy of Ted’s career however, was when Julie Long, another fifth grade teacher, and he decided to start team teaching. They had 50 students in the same classroom with both of them teaching all of the subjects.
Ted recalls that the most rewarding project he was ever involved in was Julie Long’s brainchild – the Grandparent Project, In that project students interview a grandparent and then wrote a six chapter book about his or her life, which was then presented to the grandparent at a Grandparent Tea in May. Grandparents attend from all over the United States and even one from Japan. Eventually, all of the fifth grade teachers ended up being involved in the Grandparent Project.
Ted feels that during that era he was fortunate to be able to introduce ideas and many other projects like the checking account project, including the auction, the Have Bags, Will Travel Project and the Science Fair Project. His career spanned a time where long term, interdisciplinary projects were encouraged, supported by a fifth grade staff at both Harmon and Leighton that loved working together. He is quick to acknowledge that none of these projects would not have been possible without the support of all the staff, administration, parents, and students.
Ted has shared that “I was also blessed throughout my years of teaching to have a supportive family at home that allowed me to be so involved in life at school. My wife, Kelly, also an educator, was a person I could bounce ideas off of as well, and having three children of my own allowed me to see first-hand the importance of a teacher on a person’s life.”
All of Ted’s former students know of his love for the Cleveland Browns! He had Cleveland Browns memorabilia around his entire room and was able to use his love of the Browns to connect with his students in a different way. He used his Cleveland Browns bike to lead Bike Club, which was complimented with a Cleveland Browns bike helmet. Ted fondly remembers that the Cleveland Browns mascot even came to his retirement party at Leighton.
Ted recalls, “I look back at my teaching career in Aurora and feel so blessed. Aurora was and is a community that cares about its schools and is able to provide the needed resources so teachers can do their very best. The administrators that I worked with in Aurora were also fantastic and worked on finding ways to constantly help the teaching staff. I could not have asked for a better place to teach.”
Since retiring in 2014, Ted has continued to teach mathematics at the college level at Kent State, the University of Akron, and Hiram College. He also continues to substitute teach in Aurora, as well as in Stow, where he lives. He and his wife have also been able to do some traveling to a number of different states, along with taking a number of trips to Europe.
Inducted 2018
“Aim High”
Art J. Geigel II
Aurora High School English Teacher from 1965 - 2001
Arthur J. Giegel II was born in Columbus, Ohio where, as a young boy, he assimilated his parents love for history, science, arts and literature. He graduated from Shaker Heights High School ranking sixteenth out of a class of 335. As a high school student he was the recipient of the Shaker Square Citizenship Award and ranked third in a competitive scholastic award competition earning a scholarship to Hiram College. At Hiram College he earned a four year degree in three years majoring in social studies and English.
After college graduation Art joined the U.S. Navy. His college degree qualified him for Officer Candidate School where he ranked 15th in his class of 1,300. As a commissioned officer on the U.S.S. Desoto County he participated in active duty cruises in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Eastern Atlantic and St. Lawrence Seaway. Art’s ship played a critical role at Guantanamo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and an uprising in Colon, Panama.
At the end of his active duty, Art became certified in Social Studies, and started his teaching career in Aurora in 1965 teaching American Government in the middle school. Preferring to teach older students, the next year he gained an English certification and accepted a teaching position in English at the High School – a position he continued until his retirement in 2001.
During his tenure at Aurora, Art expanded his education expertise with additional graduate school courses and workshops at Hiram College, Cuyahoga Community College, Rutgers University, Ashland College, Bowling Green University, Cleveland State University, Kent State University as well as a sabbatical in 1975-76 where he earned a Masters Degree from the University of Akron.
Art’s long and storied career as an Aurora educator was marked by numerous recognitions, awards, and innovative curriculum endeavors.
Among his awards was being a recipient of the prestigious Jennings Scholar award, Aurora Teacher of the Year, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, twice recognized as a Leader in American Secondary Education. He was also honored in 1997 for his students achieving the second highest writing proficiency scores in the State.
As a career curriculum leader Art served as the English Department Chair (1960-86), served twice on the team that wrote the Ohio Test of Scholastic Achievement, developed the Senior Advanced Placement course, wrote the English Department Handbook, served as a core team member for the Early English Composition Assessment Program (E.E.C.A.P.), created the Chaucer Project to disseminate vocational information to General and College Prep. classes, was selected as a presenter at the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts 40th Spring Conference, was a core member of the High School for the Future project, and developed the Senior Advanced Placement course.
Art has been no less busy in retirement engaging in everything from poetry writing, setting up retail outlets, inspecting electronic chips, warehousing, visiting Ireland, and working in as a finisher and extrusion line helper in a rubber products plant.
He and his wife, Mary Gay, moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania in 2014 where she passed away in 2016. He still resides there continuing to pursue a variety of scholarly literature pursuits and personal interests including the blues, movies, and looking forward to visits from his son, Art Geigel III.
Inducted 2017
Judith Byrum
Honored Educator
First Grade Teacher 1984 - 2006
“To broaden a student’s mind, you must first touch their heart”
Judith Byrum hails from Euclid, Ohio, the daughter of Kenneth and Ella G. Sims. Her father was Euclid’s mayor for 34 years. After graduating in 1958 from Euclid High School’s largest class she attended Hillsdale College for two years. During that time she met her future husband of 48 years, John K. Byrum, and in 1960 was married at age 19. After marrying, Judie finished her college studies at Kent State University graduating in 1962 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught for one year at Jefferson Elementary School in Euclid before starting her family.
John and Judie’s children are son John K Byrum, Jr., born in 1963, who is an attorney in Richmond, Virginia, son Jeffrey, born in 1965 who works for the 3M Corporation in Nashville, Tennessee, and daughter Jayme (Sabulsky), born in 1976 who has been a kindergarten teacher in the Aurora Schools for nearly 20 years. The Byrum’s were blessed with seven grandchildren.
The Byrums moved to Aurora in 1968 upon the encouragement of her brother who was an Aurora high school teacher and basketball coach. Judie began her teaching career in Aurora in 1984 teaching first grade (with the exception of one year) until her retirement in 2006. Since retirement she remained active as a substitute teacher for ten years.
Since her husband passed in 2009 Judy has remained active in the community and the Church in Aurora as a deacon and a member of the Guild Circle. She also spends time with her family and grandchildren. However, she finds among her greatest rewards watching her First Graders grow up, graduate, get married, and start families of their own. She stays in touch with many of her former students and had a number of their children in her classroom. Especially gratifying is watching several of her own grandchildren begin their academic careers in the Aurora Schools.
Inducted 2015
Shirely Duval
Honored Educator
Aurora City Schools Kindergarten Teacher
1966 - 1996
Shirley Duval was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to the suburb of Grosse Pointe at eight years old. She lived in Grosse Pointe in the winter and spent summers with her grandparents in Algonac on the St. Clair River. Her father was a surgeon and her mother was a housewife. She had one sister, as well as two orphaned cousins who lived with them. Shirley graduated from Grosse Pointe High School in 1942. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1946 with a degree in Geography, majoring in Cartography.
The Duvals moved to Aurora in 1954 where a neighbor, Sally Cook, was an Aurora kindergarten teacher. When Sally Cook’s health forced her retirement in the middle of the 1966-67 school year, Aurora quickly needed to find a kindergarten teacher. At the urging of friends and neighbors, Shirley applied and was hired despite the fact that she did not have an education degree. She started her education courses that fall and spent twelve years earning a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Education from Kent State.
Shirley’s first twelve years of teaching kindergarten in Aurora were in the basement of the Catholic Church. Eventually the kindergarten classes were moved to Craddock, and then Miller school. In 1996, Shirley retired after thirty years of teaching in Aurora.
Shirley married her husband of 62 years, Len, upon graduation from the University of Michigan. They have four children: a daughter, Colleen, now in Clermont, Florida, and sons Lenny, in Ravenna, Ray, in Solon, and Patrick, in Denver, Colorado. They have four granddaughters, three grandsons, one great-granddaughter and four great-grandsons.
Shirley reflects that there was nothing better than when she could see the sparkle in a child’s eyes when they realized they had accomplished something - from being able to read, know all the letters and their sounds, or counting to 100. Her goal was “to help children like school because they had a long way to go.”
Donna French
Honored Educator
Aurora City School Librarian
1968-1998
Donna Jane (Unger) French was born in November 1931 in Youngstown, Ohio. She grew up in Poland, Ohio where she graduated from high school in 1949. Donna attended Hiram College before entering nurse’s training at Trumbull Memorial Hospital. She married Park French in September of 1952. In 1959, with four small children (and a 5th about to arrive) the family moved to Aurora and the town became their permanent home. A sixth child was born in 1961, and a seventh five years later.
In the early 1960s, despite the many demands of raising a large family, Donna devoted her energies to the task of creating libraries in Aurora’s two elementary schools. The 1964-65 Elementary School yearbook was dedicated to “Mrs. Park French for her volunteer efforts this year to organize and operate the first elementary school libraries in Aurora.” Donna continued to develop and run the libraries nearly full-time as a volunteer until the school district was able to hire her in 1968. Throughout her career, these welcoming libraries reflected her energetic commitment to the enrichment of all children through the limitless world found in books.
Hundreds of Aurora students remember Donna as a colorful, witty, engaging librarian who donned endless costumes for the seasons and various holidays. Her remarkable room decorations, special effects and treats created a fun, welcoming atmosphere that made her libraries a focal point for the students and the school. She retired from Aurora Schools 1998 after more than three decades of encouraging kids to imagine broadly, think creatively and pursue their dreams relentlessly.
Sadly, Donna died in 2013, two years after the death of her husband Park. However, all seven of their children: Linda Griffin, Jill French, Suzanne Spilsbury, Becky French Kalydosos, Annie French, Jodie French-Burr and Douglas, from five states, are with us today to honor their mother and her legacy in the Aurora Schools.
Inducted 2014
Andrew Kmetz
Honored Educator
Aurora City Schools Art Teacher
1968 - 1985
"Andy Kmetz taught us about art and theater – but he also taught us so much about life. He taught us to believe in ourselves. He made all of us feel like we could achieve our dreams. He was our mentor, our leader, our cheerleader and our friend. " – Mike Fejes ‘85
Andrew Kmetz grew up in Akron, Ohio. As a youth he became an accomplished tap-dancer. When he was twelve years old he spent a year in Hollywood, California working on the set of MGM studios making short movies. After High School graduation he attended Illinois Benedictine Seminary where he earned a Degree in Philosophy and spent a year in the Benedictine Monastery. In 1953 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent two years in the Signal Corp at Fort Bennings, Georgia.
After the military Andy returned to college at Kent State and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech and English. Andy’s first teaching position was in the Ravenna, Ohio Schools where he taught High School Speech and English. While in Ravenna he returned to college and earned a Master’s Degree in Theater Arts with a minor in Art. These new interests and degrees led to new teaching areas in Ravenna and he began teaching Middle School art and High School Drama.
Andy came to the Aurora Schools in 1968 initially as a High School English teacher. However, he was soon persuaded by Middle School principal Mike Lenzo to join the staff at Harmon Middle School as an Art teacher, a position he held until his retirement. Soon after coming to Harmon School he began a long term collaboration in drama productions with Harmon English teacher Dan Dyer. They would produce countless shows together including the popular “Farewell to Harmon” productions. In the early 1980’s Andy also directed musicals at the High School and served as choreographer with the Aurora Community Theater. After his retirement in 1985 Andy taught art as a volunteer at St. Patrick School in Kent. Until recently he also served as a volunteer in the emergency room of Robinson Memorial Hospital.
Eileen Kutinsky
Honored Educator
Aurora City Schools Science Teacher
1965 – 1985
Aurora Teacher of the Year
Coleman Lifetime Achievement Award
"Eileen Kutinsky was one of the best teachers I ever had. She made science enjoyable for middle school kids, combining information with hands on experiences that were highly motivating. She was dedicated to education and science and always available to students."- Michelle Habbyshaw Dirda ‘86
Eileen Kutinsky earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Science from Mount Union College and her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Kent State University. She began her teaching career in a one room school house in Lexington, Ohio followed by teaching third and fourth grade at Bolton School. Later she taught kindergarten and first grade in the Streetsboro schools.
Eileen began her illustrious and memorable career at Harmon Middle school in Aurora in 1965 as a sixth grade science teacher, a position she held for many years. She also taught some eighth grade science at Harmon. Eileen’s outgoing, challenging, and hands on approach endeared her as a student favorite for several generations of Harmon school students. She was a driving force in the establishment of the 6th grade annual sixth grade camp where her hands on approach to nature and scientific topics were integrated into the learning experiences. Certainly no one in the community or at Harmon school will forget the year they shared the experience of raising a cow at Harmon school.
In addition to her Harmon career, Eileen has taught Science and English at the college level and served as a Student Teaching Supervisor.
Ever the activist, Eileen has served on the Streetsboro Board of Education and as a Portage County Library Board member.
Eileen’s greatest memories: Kids! Camping! Amazing fellow teachers!
Inducted 2013
Mary Ann Balbach
Aurora City School Social Studies Teacher
1982 – 2007
1991 Aurora City School Outstanding Educator
2007 Aurora Rotary Club Educator of the Year
"Great teachers impart more than just knowledge. They make you feel welcome, develop you as a person, and instill curiosity to learn more beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Mrs. Balbach did all of these and more." – Erica Eckart ‘99
Mary Ann Balbach understood from the time she was in grade school in Long Island that she wanted to be a Social Studies teacher. She received her B.S. from Miami University and lunched her career in Kettering, Ohio where she also taught one of the area’s first Head Start Classes. After a professional leave of absence to rear her two children, Mary Ann joined an outstanding faculty at Harmon Middle School. Over the years she served as Department Chairperson; implemented a Mock Congress; reenacted the Constitutional Convention; created with Jerry Brodsky and Robert Luckay, the first multi-school Global Issues Seminar in northeast Ohio; led annual trips to Washington D.C. and advised the Natural History Club. Her greatest reward has been her interactions with students.
In her retirements Mary Ann is active in her church, serves on the Board of her condo association, volunteers at the public library, attends the Aurora Study Club, and frequently visits her children and grandchildren in Michigan and North Carolina.
Daniel Dyer
Aurora City Schools Language Arts Teacher
1966 – 1978 1982 – 1997
National Endowment for Humanities Teacher-Scholar Award 1992-93
Phi Beta Kappa – Hiram College
Phi Delta Kappa (Education)
"To those alumni who were his students, Dr. Dyer was more than an 8th grade English teacher – he was a true mentor, a role model, and a source of inspiration. Through a unique blend of humor, and relating stories to real life… he was able to instill a love of English in his students that would last a lifetime." – Brian Brookhart ‘98
Daniel Dyer began teaching seventh grade English at Aurora Middle School in 1966. In 1978 he left to try teaching undergraduates and high school students—but learned he preferred middle-schoolers. In 1982 he returned to Harmon School, where he taught eighth grade English until his retirement in January 1997. (Between 2001–2010 he taught English at Western Reserve Academy.) While at Harmon he directed more than thirty play productions (many he wrote for his students)—and two at AHS, Grease and The Merry Wives of Windsor, the first Shakespeare play in Aurora Schools’ history. He also coached, supervised school publications, student council, a writers’ club, student film productions, lunch-time tennis, and others. While in Aurora, he earned his Master’s and Doctorate from Kent State University and won several national awards, including the 1992 Teacher-Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. A freelance writer, he now has more than 1500 publications, including books, essays, and book reviews. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National Book Critics Circle. He is married to writer Joyce Dyer; their son, Steve, attended Harmon School; their two grandsons wish they could.
Robert Luckay
Aurora City Schools Social Science Teacher
1978 – 1998
1974 - Jaycees Outstanding Young Educator
1975-76 - Jennings Scholar
1996 Aurora City Schools Outstanding Educator
"Mr. Luckay made history, including our own special state history, come alive. He took the time to be caring, nurturing, and human at a time in my life when these characteristics were vital to my development." – Evan McCarthy ‘98
Robert (Bob) Luckay moved to Aurora in 1967 and graduated one year later with a Social Science Comprehensive B.A. degree from John Carroll University. Bob both taught and lived social studies. He applied the knowledge and skills of government by running for city council, serving several terms from 1976-79, 1982-85, and 2002-03. He also served as vice mayor for four years. In addition to chairing a number of city committees he also chaired the 1999 Heritage Festival, the Landmark Commission, and the 2001 bond issue campaign to acquire lands for parks and recreation. Bob also served as president of the Aurora Conservation Council. Former students recall that Bob Luckay’s teaching style was marked by a zeal for life and a comprehensive mentorship that changed the life of many. His wise words, caring jokes, and field trips are embedded in the memories of former Harmon Middle School students. For many, later life debates about the merits of ecological stewardship and environmentalism, hiking as a class in Mr. Luckay’s woods comes to mind.
Robert Luckay still lives in his home on the 54 acre family farm adjacent to Harmon School continuing a five generation family tradition of Aurora connection.
John Smolko
Aurora City Schools High School Art Teacher
1983 - 2008
"I started out with more desire than talent, but the principles John focused on pushed me to the next level. His most important lesson – FOCUS! Do what you say you are going to do. Don’t let someone else define you – Define yourself." - Jeff Champ ‘91
John Smolko taught secondary school art for 35 years. The final 25 years were at Aurora High School where he developed one of the finest art programs in the state of Ohio. He initiated the Advanced Placement Art Program in Aurora and achieved a one hundred percent passage rate. John was on the team that brought the International Baccalaureate Program to Aurora and his IB Art Program helped enhance the AP curriculum. His art students received awards and scholarships every year he taught and many of them are art professionals today. Parents, teachers, students, and the community all supported John’s art program and made it an integral part of a successful dynamic curriculum.
Today, John is creating art every day and exhibits all over the country. He is a member of the Group Ten Gallery in Kent, Ohio and his works hang in many public and private collections. He is also a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and offers pencil workshops nationally. John lives with his wife, Gigi, in Kent and has two grown sons that are independent and a source of pride.
Nominate your favorite deserving administrator, teacher or staff member
Nomination form on this website – email or send in
You may fill out the form online or click the download the Hall of Fame NOMINATION FORM.
Forms may be submitted here or by mail to:
Aurora Alumni Association, P.O. Box 688, Aurora, Ohio 44202