Tuesday was no ordinary drop-off day at Scott Elementary School in Naperville.
A portable speaker blasted upbeat music. Staff and students blew noisemakers and waved blue-and-yellow pompoms while balloons danced in the light breeze.
Below a sign to the school’s main entrance, head custodian Dean Baki sat with a crown on his head, proudly declaring, “The king is back.”
As students and their parents arrived to school, they hugged and gave high-fives and fist bumps to Baki, affectionately known as Mr. Dean, who returned to work for the first time Tuesday after suffering a severe medical emergency in February.
As children exited their cars to go to school, they smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Mr. Dean is back.”
The morning’s celebration was planned as both a surprise for students and for Baki, a way to show him how much he is appreciated, Scott Elementary Principal Tracey Ratner said.
“It’s important that he knows how much he means to all of us,” she said. “We wanted to make sure it was really special and he felt welcomed.”
When Baki arrived to his job one day in February, he noticed he wasn’t feeling well and his body temperature was rising. Because his cellphone wasn’t working, he drove himself to Naperville’s Edward Hospital, where he collapsed after checking in. His arteries were nearly completely clogged and he was given a low chance of survival.
Baki spent the ensuing months at the hospital and then in rehabilitation.
He called his recovery a miracle.
Baki, 68, said he missed Scott Elementary while he recovered, and he had no desire to retire.
“This is the place I belong,” said Baki, who has worked at the school for 15 years. “This is my home. The teachers, the kids, they are amazing people.”
The students make him feel young, he said.
“I thought I might retire, but why retire?” Baki asked. “Your health is now good. Your heart is good. If the kids need help, I want to help.”
Scott Elementary is a special community, Baki said.
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“Here is a family,” he said. “They care for each other. They care for the kids. I saw that with my two eyes.”
School officials kept in touch with Baki and his family over the last six months, Ratner said. Children and staff made cards and blankets to wish him well, she said, and students asked about him daily.
“He really is the heart of our school,” Ratner said. “It’s not surface level for him. He asks about the kids, their siblings, their families, their interests. He’s very encouraging when he sees kids in the hallway having a hard time. It’s not just a job for him. He calls this his home, and he takes really good care of it and takes pride in what he does here.”
Baki was able to attend an end-of-year assembly in May as a special guest, and the children went wild, chanting “Mr. Dean” and applauding, she said.
A veteran, Baki is also a guest of honor at the school’s annual Veterans Day assembly, Ratner said.
Students and staff Tuesday said they were thrilled Baki was back.
“We are complete again,” said Heidi Ruppenthal, a learning commons paraprofessional. “You can’t find a better human being.”
Jeffery Chiros, 9, a fourth-grader at Scott Elementary School, said he was glad Mr. Dean was back.
“He is so kind and funny,” he said. “A bunch of kids love him. Teachers respect him. He is well-known.”
Peyton Stelzer, 9, said Mr. Dean makes the students smile.
“He’s a mentor to all the students,” said Peyton, a fourth-grader. “He’s very kind. He’s very helpful.”
Daniel Beil, 9, echoed his classmates’ sentiments.
“If we didn’t have him, this whole school would be falling down,” he said. “I’m really glad he’s back.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.