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Ralph Critelli, Kenmore East High School Science Teacher
The name Ralph Critelli has become synonymous with being at Kenmore East 24/7 lately. The work he does, both in and out of the classroom, is reflective of an individual that gives 110%, above and beyond what is expected, all the time. The type of person who typifies what it means to be a Kenmore East Bulldog. A pillar of dedication, as a teacher, and more importantly,
as a person. To illustrate, a student of a neighboring school was at a school event at Kenmore East recently. After the event, she commented that Mr. Critelli talked to her, more that night than any of her teachers in her home school ever have. “He really seemed to care about me as a person." That’s the type of person that Ralph is, a person that cares about others. It could be said that “people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care," and that could definitely be said about Ralph.There are a number of different roles that Ralph has played over the 33 years that he has been teaching at Kenmore East:
- Volleyball coach
- Faculty Manager
- Day Camp coordinator
- 8th grade orientation
- The “Critelli” trip to whitewater raft every year for the last 25 years
- Science Olympiad (still helps out even though Kenmore East doesn’t field a team)
- Adjunct Professor at UB
- Field trip to the Buffalo Recycling Center and Love Canal
Aside from the extra things that Ralph does, it is his commitment to help others and do what needs to be done to teach a child, get a point across and help someone else. From being a devoted son to elderly parents to husband, father, and recently, grandfather, as well as a teacher that is willing to share his room with many other teachers, Ralph has taken his job very
seriously. When former students were asked what they remember about Mr. Critelli, they responded with things like “always energetic," “dropped a book out the window to illustrate gravity," and "dressed up like a Roman dude to teach us a lesson.” As busy as Ralph is, we often see him making time for others by staying after school and helping students who might be struggling. Science department chair Bob O’Connor states, “He has been inspirational as a colleague, and it is a privilege to have taught with him for so many years.”
