If you stop by the Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School on a Wednesday or Friday, chances are you might not be able to spot the teachers walking amongst the students.

That’s because six days a month, teachers pay good money to wear blue jeans instead of slacks.

Language arts teacher Cathy Wolfe started the school’s “dress down days” about four years ago as a way to wear comfortable clothing to work while also paying homage to former Lake-Lehman employees and students.

Teachers pay $5 to wear less formal attire to work every other Wednesday, and the money funds book scholarships for graduating seniors, as well as school functions such as the Last Knight Lock-In.

“We were looking for some kind of fun fundraiser to help with the senior book scholarships,” said Wolfe, who has been teaching at Lake-Lehman for 29 years. “

Each dress down day also honors a deceased member of the Lake-Lehman family. Some honorees include former special education teacher Linda Futoma, who passed away in 2004, and Lake-Lehman grad Brian Welby, who passed away in 2009.

“They were all such a large part of the Lake-Lehman community when they were here,” Wolfe said of the deceased.

The initial fundraiser was so successful that Regan Bombick, another teacher, sparked a district-wide way to keep comfortable while giving back.

Two years ago teachers and staffers in all four schools – the junior/senior high school and Lake-Noxen, Lehman-Jackson and Ross elementary schools – began paying $5 a month to dress casually every Friday.

“It’s a bargain,” laughed Wolfe.

The money raised from the district-wide fundraiser is donated to designated community organizations, such as the American Red Cross or the Back Mountain Food Pantry.

“It’s a wonderful way of giving back,” said Wolfe. “It’s a small way, but it’s a good way.”

Wolfe said the idea for the dress down days caught on quickly because, like students, teachers enjoy being comfortable.

“The students get to know that we, too, wear jeans, not just dress clothes,” said Wolfe. “Plus, if you plan to go somewhere after school like the grocery store, you don’t have to go in a dress and high heels.”

The junior/senior high school fundraiser generates enough money every year to give book scholarships ranging from $200 to $500 to 25 graduating seniors.

“I know how expensive books are, and it’s my hope that every senior goes to college,” said Wolfe. “Even if the scholarship only pays for one book, that’s one book the student or parents don’t have to pay for.”