SAD 1 recognizes retirees

14 years ago

PRESQUE ISLE,  Maine — Seven retiring SAD 1 employees with a combined 191 years of service to the district were recognized last Wednesday night at the SAD 1 board meeting.

• Laurie Berry, secretary at Zippel Elementary School, is retiring after 23 years of service.

“When I first came to Zippel, I noticed that students were lining up at the counter in the morning,” said Zippel Principal Sharon Brown. “One morning — early on — Laurie was on the phone so I went to the counter and I said to the first little boy, ‘How could I help you this morning?’ and he said, ‘I need Mrs. Berry.’ I said, ‘Well, you know, I think that I could help you … are you sick?’ ‘Nope.’ I said, ‘Do you have a note?’ ‘Nope.’ Then this little girl who couldn’t even see over the counter explained it to me. She said, ‘Every morning Mrs. Berry says good morning to us and tells us to have a nice day.’

“Laurie Berry is the face of Zippel school. Laurie is unfailingly kind and respectful to everyone. She’s irrepressibly perky first thing in the morning and is always loving to the students who cross her threshold,” said Brown. “She is the first person that people see when they enter the building whether it’s the first time or the hundredth. She is that pleasant, helpful voice at the end of the telephone line and she is the voice of reason in our very chaotic days. It’s not easy being the heart and soul of a school, but you have certainly done that as you’ve been Zippel’s secretary. Thank you!”

Berry said she will miss all of her kids.

“Somebody will say to me, ‘How many children do you have?’ and I say, ‘350.’ They look at me and I say, ‘They are. They’re all my children.’ They come to my counter every morning with their stories. I put myself in their place; I was their age once, too. I’m going to miss them, but I’m going to come in and check on everybody.”

• Sylvia Fox, English teacher at Presque Isle High School, is retiring with 11 years of service to the district.

“Sylvia came to us from Washburn and already had 23 years of experience,” said PIHS Principal Donna Lisnik. “The first thing that we did when she came to us was give her a class that she had never taught before — publications. That’s never easy; publications is our yearbook and what got her through were her organizational skills and her commitment to deadlines. Anybody who knows Sylvia knows you don’t miss a deadline. She always produces a beautifully done yearbook.

“In addition to the yearbook, Sylvia teaches all levels of English, but she has these special students that she calls her ‘little people.’ I wasn’t sure what she meant by that but these are the students who need the most help with their literacy skills,” Lisnik said. “Every time she says, ‘I’m working with my little people,’ you can here the love in her voice and that means to me that she cares very much for these ‘little people.’”

Lisnik said she’s happy that Fox will come back in the fall to teach two classes and mentor Marcie Young who will take over the publications class.

“In her free time, Sylvia will continue to play the organ for her church, spend time with her two grandchildren, spend time at camp and read, which are all her favorite things to do,” said Lisnik. “Thank you, Sylvia, for all you’ve done for our students and thank you for continuing to work with them.”

Fox said it’s been a pleasure working for SAD 1.

“I have absolutely enjoyed every minute that I’ve been here,” she said. “I really do appreciate Dr. [Gehrig] Johnson and the board way back in 2000 when you hired me because I was a teacher who had some experience and some school districts at that time weren’t hiring experienced teachers; they were getting new teachers. I was really thrilled to be able to be here. I have great kids, great colleagues and I thank you so much for giving me a chance to be here. It has been a very, very professionally and personally wonderful experience and I’m glad I’ll be able to come back and teach two classes.”

• Candice Williams has been a teacher at Zippel Elementary School for 35 years.

“In 1975, Candice was a recent graduate of the University of Maine at Machias and a County girl and was looking to come back to The County to work,” said Brown. “At that time, Wilmot Kierstead was the principal at Zippel, heard about that, called her and invited her to take a teacher’s aide job. The next year she slipped into a teaching job and has been at Zippel ever since — 11 years in second grade and the last 24 years in fourth grade. She’s definitely a resident expert.

“For 35 years she has taught and served our students at Zippel, and still is current, still is enthusiastic. Every morning she comes to school ready and vibrant,” she said. “You can see her in the classroom using wide gestures, broad facial expressions and a deep voice to draw the students in and she’s not ready to let go until everyone is there with that lesson.”

Williams said she has enjoyed working with not only the staff, but also the SAD 1 administration over the years.

“It’s a rare, rare quality — public or private service — to say that we don’t work under administration or for the administration, but rather we work with the administration,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed working with the SAD 1 administration; it’s been a privilege and I thank you very, very much.”

• Judy Perkins has taught in SAD 1 for 37 years.

Perkins started her career at Skyway Middle School in March 1975 in the migratory program where she taught English and math for nine years. In 1984, she began teaching at Cunningham Middle School where she taught seventh-grade math for 21 years before the two middle schools combined into the Presque Isle Middle School where she continued to teach seventh-grade math for five years. This year she added science to her teaching experience.

“Judy has always been organized, meticulously prompt, very attentive to detail and she admittedly enjoys sifting through data,” said PIMS Principal Anne Blanchard. “She’s also very practical, efficient and a very well-prepared educator, and has her master’s degree in education.

“We’re very pleased that Judy is going to come back for us to teach a couple of classes — pre-algebra for seventh grade and an eighth-grade algebra class,” Blanchard said. “Judy, I thank you so much for your commitment and for your contributions to SAD 1 and we’re just delighted that you’ll be able to come back.”

Perkins said it’s been a “great pleasure to be associated and work in SAD 1.”

“I am thrilled to be able to still stay associated and be at the middle school which is a great place to be,” she said. “I appreciate everything and I think that’s why I want to stick around a little bit longer.”

• Jill Brown was honored for 39 years with the district.

“Mrs. Brown has been in public education for nearly four decades. She first worked in Mars Hill for two years before moving to Mapleton Elementary School where she’s spent 37 years as a third-grade teacher,” said Mapleton Principal Dan Duprey. “It is truly amazing to consider the number of lives she has touched and how many students she has positively impacted over the years. In the short time that I have worked with Mrs. Brown, I have witnessed several characteristics that make her not just a remarkable teacher, but more importantly, a great person.

“She always greets her students when they enter the building with a ‘Good morning. Nice to see you,’ and she sends them off with, ‘Have a good night. We will see you tomorrow.’ She has a positive attitude and a willingness to support activities for all students and faculty members, as well,” said Duprey. “She’s responsible for directing several third-grade performances and musicals, and is well known for her famous ‘Read alouds.’ She can take in and get into a character and change her voice; she plays the part and it’s impressive. She’s also a mother hen and takes care of her students no matter what their needs are. She loves her school and while we envy her, we’re so happy for her and wish her the very best.”

Brown admitted she had “mixed feelings” about retiring.

“I know in my heart that I will be in that school,” she said, “because I will miss the children. I’ve already told the fourth-grade teachers that I want to come in and work with some of the students and help them along and guide them along. I thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to teach and work with all of you. Everyone’s been wonderful and I really appreciate everything.”

Other district employees retiring but unable to attend the board meeting included Dave Heald, who is retiring after 12 years as the athletic director, and Winfield “Ron” Farley, who is leaving after 34 years as a custodian.

Also at the June 8 meeting, directors accepted the resignations of Mary White, social worker at PIHS; Paula McCrossin, family/school coordinator; and Scott Young, eighth-grade math/science teacher at PIMS.

Hired as a one-year math teacher at PIHS was Katalin Grooms, while Mark White was named the district’s new athletic director.

The next SAD 1 board meeting will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 20 in the board conference room at PIHS.