July 23, 2022

By Fred Liggett
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From dressing up as Cleopatra to a being a Grammar Granny character Lauren Weeks is known to be a lot of things and now her family and friends can add a Blue KC Sporting Samaritan to the list. Weeks, a Lee’s Summit resident, is a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher at the Kansas City International Academy. The school sits at 414 Wallace Avenue in Kansas City and serves students from K thru 8th grade.

Following a nomination process, Weeks was selected as the latest Blue KC Sporting Samaritan. Weeks will be honored at a Sporting KC match on Saturday, Aug. 27 when the San Jose Earthquakes come to town to play an MLS match at Children’s Mercy Park. The honor has already meant one trip out to Sporting KC’s home field as Weeks visited the venue on Monday, Jul. 18. While there Weeks was given a Sporting KC Jersey with the # 2. Weeks spent over two hours at the stadium facility along with family members and award sponsors as part of a photo shoot and behind the scenes tour.

To those close to Lauren being named a Sporting Samaritan is richly deserved as Weeks continues to make a difference at the charter school throughout the year. She gets students attention by dressing up in costumes to represent each new series from Cleopatra to Cyclops. Lauren is known to find creative ways to connect with her students from honoring birthdays to TikTok dance parties.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Weeks also serves as the teacher representative for student council. She doesn’t stop there as she coached cross country and Girls on the Run. Her colleagues voted her 2021 Teacher of the year at KCIA.

Weeks, like all Blue KC Sporting Samaritans, will be recognized during pre-game festivities of a home match. Lauren and her three guests will participate in an on-field experience and will also receive a behind the scenes VIP experience. Weeks has been known to wear costumes in her KCIA classroom and now has the option of wearing a customized Sporting KC Jersey with her name on the back as she continues to teach her students throughout the school year.