2022

Distinguished Educator

Dick Kosha, Distinguished Educator

Everyone loved Mr. Kosha.  He was the cool 5th grade teacher at Pleasant Avenue School.  He also made learning fun.  You got to play seat ball in Mr. Kosha’s classroom AND he rode a motorcycle.   No doubt many a 4th grader secretly hoped to have Kosha’s name written on their report card as their teacher assignment for the following year.  He treated the kids with respect, made them laugh, and always had a story to tell.

Dick Kosha was born in Lackawanna, New York in 1948 and grew up in Blasdell.  “I attribute my interest in teaching to my freshman year at Northern Michigan University,” said Kosha.  Upon graduation in 1970, Dick was hired to teach 5th grade at Union Pleasant Elementary School. With a teaching career that spanned 37 years, Kosha was surrounded by a wonderful and dedicated staff at the Union Pleasant School.  “I was proud to have been on a faculty with so many talented, supportive, and creative educators,” recalled Kosha.

For the first 18 years of his teaching career, Kosha also served the community he grew up in as a Village of Blasdell Police Officer.  “We were lucky to have so much energy when we were young,” said Kosha.

Retired from both careers with his lovely wife Pam, Dick enjoys traveling and spending time with their son Jason, Jason’s wife Lauren, and their 2 grandsons Michael and Harry, who live in Merrick, New York.  “They have enriched our lives,” said Kosha.  He also continues to be an avid hunter and loyal Bills fan.

“I am very grateful for the many years I taught and fortunate to have been a part of a wonderful institution in Hamburg and a proud member of a superb faculty,” recalled Kosha.  “I am blessed to have had a great career in education.  In 37 years of teaching, I feel like I not only touched a lot of lives, but those lives and experiences will forever be held close to my heart.  Thank you Hamburg Central.”