Chris Pytlak, a fifth-grade teacher at Ansonia’s Prendergast School, seems to have figured out how to get students excited about education — dress like Michael Jackson and lead a surprise “flash mob” to the song “Beat It.”
Pytlak and the rest of Prendergast’s teaching staff mimicked the dance moves from the famous music video Friday afternoon as hundreds of students cheered in delight.
The surprise came at the end of an outdoor assembly where Principal Joe Apicella and Assistant Principal Sherrod McNeill gave out awards to students who performed well on the Connecticut Mastery Test last year.
They also reviewed the school’s six traits of the school’s “Character Pillar” — trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship, in case you were wondering.
Which was all well and good, and the students duly paid attention.
But things didn’t get really fun until Pytlak, who choreographed the routine, wandered in front of students wearing a black fedora, sunglasses, an unbuttoned white shirt and a single white glove.
He and a handful of colleagues began dancing as the song began playing over loudspeakers set up on the field.
Then, as the song’s trademark guitar riff kicked in, the rest of the school’s teachers — wearing T‑shirts they had all tie-dyed, to send a “team” message — rushed the field to join in.
Some seemed more enthusiastic about the routine than others.
But there was no doubting the enthusiasm of the students, who treated their teachers to a loud ovation afterward.
Superintendent Carol Merlone was also on hand to witness the action and seemed just as appreciative.
“It’s a new feeling of energy here at Prendergast School,” she said after. “You can see it on the faces of the children and staff.”
