Teacher proposes at Whittier Middle School dance

The all-school dance at Whittier Middle School on Friday ended with a lifetime love connection — for two of the school’s staff members.

As a new school week begins, teacher Peter Chap officially can call his colleague, education assistant Suzannah Reaves, his fiancee after a proposal that’s sure to be the talk of the halls.

“Is there a better fit than a middle school dance?” Chap asked himself as he considered his approach. “If I can pull this thing off, it’s going to be bonkers.”

He wasn’t wrong. But first — a little background.

Chap and Reaves didn’t meet at Whittier but rather about two years ago, when she was convinced to go to an end-of-the-season event at Great Bear Ski Valley, where he was a snowboard instructor.

“We had a mutual friend, and she introduced us, and we started talking and found out we’d both spent time in Montana,” Chap said.

Reaves got his number under the premise of hiring him to remodel her bathroom.

“But I also got his phone number because I thought he was cute and great,” she acknowledged.

About a year later — bathroom renovation nixed — they moved in together to a town house Chap bought in the Whittier neighborhood so he could walk to work. His mother, an educator for 38 years, taught special education for 13 of those, and he’s in his third year teaching in a small social skills classroom designed to help kids be successful in middle school. He also coaches football.

“I intentionally bought a place down the road from Whittier so I could walk to work and experience some of the things my students see on a day-to-day basis that occur in this neighborhood, mostly the effects of poverty and such,” he said.  “I was nervous to go into a big, traditional middle school, but the culture is so welcoming to everybody, and being able to experience that and see what Sioux Falls is really like population-wise is huge and just beautiful.”

Reaves took her own path to Whittier after mentoring at the school while she owned a business. She never planned on working in a school but began substitute teaching after leaving the business world a year ago. She’s now an education assistant at the school and continues to substitute teach there.

“The kids are amazing kids. And I think they teach us as much as we teach them,” she said. “Every day, they add so much to our lives, and it is really wonderful to live in the neighborhood with them and understand their cultures and who they are. It is just the most amazing place.”

So it was only logical to Chap that their next big life milestone take place at the middle school.

About three weeks before the dance, he approached his principal and the Student Council adviser to help pull off the plan.

“Their jaws dropped,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk that happens in schools, and I knew I had to keep it really close or word was going to spread. The day of the dance, I was able to slowly get a few more recruits to help.”

All almost went awry when the DJ prematurely dismissed the dance after forgetting the proposal plan, but staff corralled the kids back, and Reaves’ colleague pulled her onto the dance floor and challenged her to a dance-off.

“My friend said, ‘Sue, we have to go start the dance circle’ … and I noticed the circle forming, and the DJ said to get in a circle, and that’s how they got me in the right spot.”

The DJ began to play Bruno Mars’ “Marry You,” called her name to answer a few questions, and when she saw Chap by the DJ booth, it clicked in her head.

“I thought I was going to faint. My heart started beating so fast. I couldn’t find words,” she said. “The kids were instantly trying to overcrowd and wanted to be involved so bad, and it was so fun watching their faces putting all of this together.”

Chap had a little trouble wading through the mob to actually pop the question.

“The kids just go over top of him, and they’re screaming and jumping up and down, and we’re kissing in front of all our kids,” Reaves said.

“They weren’t supposed to have their phones at the dance, and as he’s proposing, I see all these phones coming out.”

The DJ shifted to “The Gummy Bear Song,” but the room never recalibrated.

“The kids just literally ripped us apart and were high-fiving Mr. Chap and wanting to see my ring,” Reaves said.

In a school where 39 languages are represented, this was universally understood.

“It was just a really cool thing for us to share,” Chap said.

The wedding date hasn’t been set but will be sooner rather than later and likely involve their shared love of winter scenery.

Chap and Reaves are both Sioux Falls natives — their family histories and shared acquaintances entwine accordingly — and they said their next chapter will include Whittier and the neighborhood they now call home.

“We don’t have any plans on going anywhere anytime soon,” Chap said. “I love being able to walk to work. I have so much faith in the leadership, and teachers who are there are so dedicated, and they care. We deal adjacently with the trauma students are exposed to, but hopefully we’re there to show them positive paths and outlets they have in their life.”