Paul Alan Richards

My girlfriend and I took his history classes in high school. We credit his choice of Howard Zinn's history of America as a defining book that helped change our view of our country, and break out of a lot of propagandized stereotypes of history. His zeal and story telling prowess was so memorable that history was easy to contextualize and remember. I cannot express enough of how often I think back to his early intervention into our worldview, and we pledge a lot of our current sanity and...

Always smiling. A life well lived! I would have liked to have known him!

Mr. Richards was one of those rare individuals who you encounter in life whose zeal for learning is truly contagious and wisdom is truly mesmerizing. Having never really been a history buff myself, his class gave me an appreciation for history that still resonates with me to this day. What really brought his class to life for me were his "flow sheets" that he would draw on the board every day to connect various events in history, which made his class feel more like a sociology...

I had Mr. Richards-as I knew him- for AP U.S. history as a junior in 2012 / 2013. I can honestly say that without that class, and in particular the final research paper, I don´t know if I would have had the research and writing experience to prepare me for college (also at the University of Kansas, Rock Chalk!) and eventually law school. And I can honestly say that before that class, I had never been so inspired or challenged intellectually. In particular, I remember sitting there during an...

Like many others have stated, Mr. Richards was truly one of the best teachers I was lucky enough to have. I´ve recently been thinking how amazing it is That back when I was a junior in 2003 We had a history teacher that was actually Educating us in the way the world was and is. How many others got to read Howard Zinn and learn the interconnectedness of all of history through amazing flow charts?? I ended up majoring in history in college and no doubt my world view was thankfully shaped in...

Paul was a great teacher, mentor, and friend. I was very fortunate to get to work with Paul at Olathe East!

Like many others have said, my heart breaks for you Joyce. Cherish the memories when you are able to reflect. Wish I could do more to help. Rest in peace Paul.

I was on the debate team at East and spent a lot of time working on arguments, but it was Mr. Richards who taught me the importance of telling a story and arguing persuasively to your audience, particularly in your written work. His high expectations for me and belief in my potential led me to law school and a career in public service. He was a great teacher and a great person, and I will forever be thankful I had the good fortune to be one his students.