Beloved LVUSD teacher dies




REMEMBERING—In her Willow Elementary third-grade classroom, Enid Stagg, second from left, admires a gift from the class, a ceramic bowl made by her students under the guidance of pottery expert Marc Gerstel, right. Stagg was known for her creative teaching methods and a deep connection to her students. Courtesy photos

REMEMBERING—In her Willow Elementary third-grade classroom, Enid Stagg, second from left, admires a gift from the class, a ceramic bowl made by her students under the guidance of pottery expert Marc Gerstel, right. Stagg was known for her creative teaching methods and a deep connection to her students. Courtesy photos

Every student has that one teacher, the one who made them feel seen, helped them grow up, pushed them, encouraged them and believed in them.

For many students who passed through Willow Elementary School, that teacher was Enid Stagg.

Stagg, 65, was a teacher in the Las Virgenes Unified School District for 26 years. She died July 10 of a pulmonary embolism.

“If you were to write your own epitaph, forgetting reality, you’d (make yourself) look like a saint. That’s what everyone wrote about Enid,” said Barry Stagg, her husband of 42 years. “If you figure on average there were 30 students in a class, she touched over 1,000 people, their parents, their siblings, professionals. . . . She was selfless and humble, and truly remarkable. She was a consummate professional and an extraordinary woman on every level.”

Barry met Enid in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1972. She was dating his brother at the time, and he said that when he met her he immediately fell for her and knew “it could be a problem.”

Enid Stagg

Enid Stagg

But the relationship between his brother and Enid ended quickly. Barry and Enid’s paths crossed again several months later, at an ice cream parlor.

“We chatted and hugged. I called her the next week, and she said she knew I would. I asked her out, she said yes. We had our first date March 3, 1973, and we’ve been together ever since,” Barry said.

He said his wife was born to teach, that it was all she wanted to do. When they married, the city of New York was in upheaval, and there were few jobs available for teachers. Barry had been visiting family in Los Angeles and suggested they move out west, which Enid was initially resistant to.

They married on a Saturday and the following Monday set off on a 17-day cross-country road trip that landed them in Sherman Oaks.

Barry said that after they’d settled in the region she became “the biggest advocate for Southern California.”

Enid’s teaching career started at the Center for Early Education in West Hollywood.

After the birth of their first son, Ashley, the couple moved to Agoura Hills, seeking a better school district. Two years after buying a home in the community, Enid was hired by LVUSD.

Former superintendent Donald Zimring said she was the “top of the top of the top of superstar teachers” he worked with during his time at the district.

“Parents would compete to get their kids in her class. I saw a social media post from a 35-year-old man who was in her class and said he still points to things she did and taught. She was a remarkably gifted teacher by every single measurement,” Zimring said. “Kids in her class came away knowing much more than subject matter. We lost a very, very talented and special educator. There are so many people who modeled themselves after her, and great teaching is all about that.”

Zimring said one of the hallmarks of her tenure were the “I Can Manage Myself” cards she would give to her students. The cards signified they had earned the right to be responsible for themselves and could go to the bathroom without asking permission.

The former superintendent said the move was initially controversial among Enid’s peers, but her stance was that she was helping to “start students understanding self-responsibility, that they’re responsible for their success as much as anyone,” Zimring said.

During her time at LVUSD Enid Stagg was named the L.A. County Teacher of the Year and was a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

After her retirement from the district in 2016, she became an adjunct professor at the Cal Lutheran University Graduate School of Education. She also worked as a field supervisor for graduate students teaching in the Moorpark Unified School District.

“Enid was a planner, she was a doer, she never stopped doing something, whether it was planning for school—she would read voraciously. If we were watching TV at night, she’d be making blankets for our grandchildren and friends. She was working on a needlepoint for our 1-year-old grandson,” her husband said. “She was always thinking of everyone else, all the time.”

Follow Ian Bradley on Twitter @Ian_ reports.