University Prep is mourning long-time science teacher, Brent Slattengren, who passed away from a heart attack in late July. Slattengren, widely known
as Slatts, worked at UPrep for 14 years and left a lasting impact on countless members of the community.
His colleague, upper school science teacher Karen Slon, and other faculty members are decorating a greenhouse in the P-Patch to honor him.
“It’s just creating a quiet place for people to go sit when they need to get away from it all because his classroom and he as a person served that role for a lot of people. People kind of went to him when they needed to feel comforted,” Slon said. “It is like creating a space that is helpful for people in the same way that Slatts was helpful for people.”
Tom Strouse, middle school science teacher, long-time friend and colleague, envisions a peaceful place on campus for members to commemorate Slattengren.
“I think it should be dedicated to really good gardening,” Strouse said. “I think it should also be a place where if the day starts to feel super crazy and busy, a place where you can go and sit by yourself and think for a minute and just t
ake a deep breath.”
Slattengren affected many members of UPrep as a teacher, a mentor and a friend.
“He served a very similar role for adults and students on campus, like just a very comforting figure,” Slon said. “The people who really knew him well, it’s hitting really, really hard.”
Slattengren’s main goal was to help his students. They were his favorite part of his job and his passion.
“He just really thought the most of every kid. He really did. I mean I just rarely saw him ever interested in anything but the success of every kid. I really believe that,” Strouse said.
The school has decided to honor Slattengren in many different ways. The faculty and counselors, such as Andrea Moore, thought very intentionally about their next moves.
“The school wanted to be really thoughtful about what we do to support adult and student and family members of our community,” Moore said. “So before we came back to session in school, we were thinking ahead to what we would do to honor and remember Mr. Slatts.”
Moore believes that Slattengren will continue to have a lasting imprint on the school.
“The impact that he leaves is not just short term, it’s a longer term impact,” Moore said. “I’ve been hearing lots of stories of how much he has transformed a variety of different students’ lives. People thinking about what it’s like to not have him in the halls and I think that hits at different points for different people.”
UPrep counselors have set up safe spaces for students and teachers alike to honor Slattengren by telling stories and sharing experiences. As executive member of the Mental Health Board, Poppy Miller feels that it is crucial to have voices speak out from all members of the community.
“Slatts was someone who has affected a lot of the community, so in his absence, a lot of people were pretty upset,” Miller said. “I felt it was important that when we were honoring Slatts, there was a student who was also involved in it so people felt more comfortable to share their stories.”
The community will miss Slattengren’s face in the halls, but his memory and ideals will continue to carry on. Strouse recalled a recent story of a conversation he had with a graduated UPrep student.
“What’s the first thing that pops to mind when you think of where you went to school before you went to college? And the first thing that popped to this girl’s mind was
Mr. Slatts. She saw University Prep and she thought: Mr. Slatts,” Strouse said. “I think for a lot of kids, that’s true. Like that. They will always remember Slatts.”
The school will forever be grateful for Slattengren and his contributions to the community.
“I feel really grateful to have had the experience to learn from him and work in partnership with him for as long as I did,” Moore said. “He’ll be missed.”
