Rita Wurtz

​For her outstanding contributions as a librarian, Rita is recognized on the Donors’ Wall of Fame by Village School Staff of Emporia, Kansas.
Rita Wurtz served as a school librarian in the Emporia School District from 1982 through 2005. She worked as a total of thirty-three years as an educator. Rita began her career as a 5th grade teacher in Shawnee, Kansas and had forty-nine students in her class. Luckily she was handsomely rewarded with a bonus of $3,300.
Rita’s knowledge of children’s literature and uncanny ability to remember just what type of book individual students liked was incredible. She was always patient and positive with her students and possessed the ability to motivate all types of students to read. She never let a child’s lack of reading ability stop them from finding some sort of literature they could enjoy and be successful with.
One of the biggest changes Rita saw during her career was the change to computerized card catalogs and circulation.