Janice Satlak-Mott, a teacher since 1971, honors Dennis McCabe, a custodian, in a stratton ceremony from the one at Ottoson.
— Nigel Kraus went beyond his math classes at AHS. He brought his environmental awareness to new generations via the SAVE club, which encouraged recycling more than a decade ago. I recall accompanying one of his classes to the company that the son of then-Town Meeting Moderator John Worden started based on the promise of solar energy.
— Evelyn DeRosa welcomed me into home near Stratton in 1998, and the reading teacher who was then at Thompson provided background for a feature story about her first graders.
— Behind the desk in the main office at Arlington High, Anne Albertazzi has long helped me get information when I worked for then-Superintendent Donovan and, after that, when I needed to know the number of grads for a YourArlington story.
— So has Judi Chebator, when she worked as an administrative assistant for Joanne Gurry and now Laura Chesson, both assistant superintendents.
— I had known heard Nancy Muise’s name for years, but had not met her until this spring, when her art class was involved with leather sculptor Winfred Rembert, a hands-on week that sparked in her “an a-ha feeling.”
— How many appeals about the pitfalls of smoking had I published from Carlene Newell? All were sensible.
— Did I need to find an employee’s salary? Payroll chief Julia McLaughlin, always helpful, was the one to see.
— And Pat Hassett. Who knew that the nurse’s office at Ottoson could be a place for a kid who was having a bad day to crash? Besides dealing with sniffles and headaches and moodiness, Pat completed those “extra,” unpublicized tasks of the job. Did a student come to school trailing a bit of an air? She was the one to tell parents that a teen needed to shower.
Those involved with education are teachers and administrators and support staff do not deal with daily glory.
The humdrum of ordinary routine disguises what may occur over years on playing fields, in hallways or in classrooms. And what is that?
It’s something akin to the words from a song in “West Side Story”:
Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something’s coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something’s coming, I don’t know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!
Apply these lyrics to our schools and its educators, the ones who deserve more glowing words than they usually receive. As they look back over their years of service, one hopes, they see … slow improvement (perhaps) in themselves and students punctuated by flashes of inspiration.
Those in education endure the everyday while aiming for insight.
I know that sometimes it happens.
Here are those honored June 12:
40 Years
Ellen Pratt, teacher, Arlington High
Jeanne Wall, teacher, Bishop
30 Years
Judi Chebator, administrative assistant, assistant superintendent’s office
Ellen Mendes, teacher, Stratton
25 Years
Anne Albertazzi, administrative assistant, Arlington High
Evelyn DeRosa, reading coach, Peirce
20 Years
Mary Cummings, teacher, Thompson
Jane Martin, teacher, Arlington High
Dennis McCabe, custodian, Stratton
Julia McLaughlin, director of payroll, Arlington Public Schools
Nancy Muise, teacher, Arlington High
Carlene Newell, health/resource teacher/tobacco educator, Arlington Public Schools
Angela Thunberg, traffic supervisor, Arlington Public Schools
Greg Wright, custodian, Bishop
Attained Professional Status 2013-2014
Trina Best, Ottoson
Johanna Bradley, Thompson
Elizabeth Brogna, Thompson
Lauren Byron, Thompson
Kimberly Carroll, Stratton
Michelle Crowley, Dallin
Martha Delaney, Stratton
Jayce G., Arlington High
Jenna Havelin, Thompson
Meredith Healey, Peirce
Christina Hughes, Dallin
Allison Marsh, Thompson
Lindsey McPherson, Arlington High
Cassandra Mea, Arlington High
Magali Olander, Arlington High
Noreen Mitchell, Ottoson Middle
Elizabeth Scott, Arlington High
Allison Schubert, Ottoson
Kathryn Uluski, Ottoson
Retirees 2013-2014
John Bookston, math teacher, Arlington High
Jane Chertoff, special-education teacher, Ottoson
Anna Colozzo, science teacher, Ottoson
Julie Coons, FACS teacher, Arlington High
Sheri Donovan, principal, Thompson
John Gonsalves, assistant principal, Ottoson
Patricia Hassett, nurse, Ottoson
Nigel Kraus, math teacher, Arlington High
Cheryl Lowenthal, reading teacher, Peirce
Ann Monticone, ELL teacher, Bishop
Ellen Pratt, teacher, Brackett
Mary Scott, teacher assistant, Dallin
This viewpoint was published Sturday, June 14, 2014.
