~ Celebrating 205 Years of Dedication to our Children ~
At the School Committee meeting on Wednesday evening, June 14th, we honored some of our 2017 Retirees. Their dedication and passion for our students is unsurpassed. It was an honor to work alongside them for the past 27 years. Please take a moment to read below and celebrate these gifted educators. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
Anita
Ballirio – (24
yrs) Anita is a long
time artist and resident of the town.
Her three children graduated from Swampscott High School, and 3 of her
grandchildren will be at Hadley School next year. She is an advocate for the arts in every
facet of community life. Anita has
presented repeatedly at various public forums working to build respect for the
history of Swampscott as an arts hub, specifically through the beach painter’s
narrative. She started her career in
Swampscott at the Machon Elementary School, teaching with a passion for free
expression and a belief that all students have the capacity to make important
beautiful things. At the high school
level Anita worked diligently to mentor students through the portfolio process
and acceptance into art schools and art programs in higher education. Her belief is that the arts should be at the
center of learning and school culture; at times she has been the singular voice
for the arts, raising the torch for the arts under various leadership models and
cultures. Her work in service learning has been unparalleled inspiring
many generations of students to see the impact they can have in the world in
which we live locally and globally. Anita
has been honored by the rotary club for her work with the Interact Club and was
teacher of the year in 2014. Anita traveled to
Burkina Faso to experience firsthand the impact of local student activism. Her generosity of spirit, boundless energy,
selflessness and unwavering steadfast commitment to the young artists of our
community have shaped the district and town immeasurably.
Glenn
Kane – (23
yrs) NOT IN PHOTO Glenn’s work in our school system represents the very
definition of service. He has worked for the Swampscott Public Schools for
twenty three years, as a middle school teacher both in History as well as TV
Production. In addition to his decades of classroom teaching, Glenn has
dedicated vast amounts of his time and energy as the lead producer on well over
thirty plays and musicals throughout his time with us, a feat that is in and of
itself worthy of high recognition. Because of his talent and dedication as an
educator in the performing arts, many of his students have gone on to lead
successful careers themselves in the areas of stage, TV, and film production
and performance. Always willing to sacrifice for the greater good of our school
community, Glenn’s attitude and effort during his time with our school system
are extremely appreciated by all.
Sami
Lawler – (21
yrs) Sami has taught for 21 years in Swampscott and
most recently in fourth grade at Stanley. Sami is incredibly kind and
understanding, always seeking first to understand others and frequently
reassuring and praising them. She does this with her students too and the
result is a classroom that is very safe and accepting. A lover of poetry,
geography, literature and social sciences, Mrs. Lawler's interests are wide
ranging and she models her passion for study and learning for her students.
Sami works hard to challenge students to meet high standards and they
don't disappoint. Mrs. Lawler is deeply committed to the Stanley School
Family and the Swampscott Public Schools and the Swampscott community,
integrating her networking of the Tin Box Poets and the Senior Center into her
teaching and community outreach with students. Sami is hard to say no to
and she gets others around her to take action in the interest of children and
the broader community. She has been the coordinator of UNICEF and other
community service projects such as this year's project to bring school supplies
to students overseas. Parents so appreciate Sami's dedication, deep
knowledge of and sincere delight in their children. Our school community
will miss Sami Lawler's knowledge and expertise but even more importantly her
sincere love of the Stanley Family.
Ann McFarlane –(23 yrs) Ann has been with
Swampscott Public Schools for the past 23 years and has proudly spent all of
those years at Clarke School. She
started out as a teacher's aide, then taught Kindergarten and finally settled
into 1st grade. She has volunteered for
many committees over the years, especially curriculum development work. She has also served as a building union
representative. Ann is an amazing educator with a natural ability for teaching
young children. She is a role model
teacher at the Clarke School. We will miss Ann’s fun sense of humor and upbeat
personality. As far as retirement goes, she has no plans of relaxing and
slowing down as she will be getting married and moving!!
Laurie
O’Brien – (18
yrs) Laurie has worked in various health care settings during the
41 years she’s been an RN. The past 18
years have been as a school nurse at Clarke Elementary. In 1999 there were two nurses for 4
elementary schools and Laurie split her time between Clarke and Machon
Schools. After a couple of years the
increasing medical complexity of the student population prompted the district
to place a full time nurse in every school.
For Laurie, certain events stand out like September 11, 2001, and the
uncertain days that followed. Her principal Carolyn Murphy asked her to develop
a crisis response manual which is still being used today. Laurie was the lead nurse for six years,
during which time she developed the Public Access Defibrillator Program,
coordinated training and helped teach CPR to staff, coordinated with Public
Health authorities during the 2009 H1N1 Flu Pandemic. Laurie is committed to the health and safety
of her patients. She loved being able to
teach lessons on food allergies, nutrition, hand washing and even puberty. She promotes wellness for staff including
cancer awareness and heart health.
Laurie says she has enjoyed working with three principals and numerous
dedicated educators who will always be part of her “Clarke Family.” In
retirement she hopes to spend time with her elderly parents, travel, and do all
the fun things she hasn’t had time to do.
Karen
Quinlan-Bach – (24
yrs) Karen has been employed by Swampscott Public Schools for 24
years as a speech/language pathologist.
She has worked at Machon, Hadley and most recently at Clarke
School. She has led professional
development trainings in Autism, Differentiated Learning, and Stress
Management. She has also been a building
union representative and an officer of the Union. She is also a fabulous baker and her treats
will be truly missed! In her retirement Karen hopes to do some traveling and
volunteer work. She is on a board called
Friends of Hawthorne at Hogan Regional Center so she will continue to be
involved in fundraising and planning events for intellectually challenged individuals.
Robert
Trant – (29
yrs) Dr. Robert Trant has been a school psychologist for the
Swampscott Public Schools since September 1, 1988. He has lead the school
psychology team in Swampscott and has been a valuable member of the school
district and student services. His knowledge and experience have been a
resource for the district that is not replaceable. He has been a
recipient of the Massachusetts School
Psychology Association School Psychologist of the Year award and has
demonstrated great determination and courage when faced with challenges that has
been inspiring to those around him. He not only has left his mark
on the lives of Swampscott students but has been a professor at Tufts
University including supervising interns that have become members of the
Swampscott team. Under his guidance, they are able to follow in his footsteps
and lead the district forward allowing his legacy to continue. We will miss Bob
and thank him for the immeasurable contributions he has made to the students,
families, faculty and administration of the Swampscott Public Schools.
Jo
Uminski – NOT IN PHOTO (16
yrs) Jo began her career as a special educator in the Swampscott
Public Schools in 2001, but her combined years in education across multiple
districts total a remarkable forty one years. When Jo started, MCAS did not
exist, and IEP’s were handwritten; these are just two examples which exemplify
the depth of her career, as well as her willingness to continually adapt on
behalf of the hundreds of students she has served throughout her academic
tenure. While so much has changed in education along her professional path, her
tireless dedication to helping students of all different shapes and sizes has
not wavered. Jo’s work has required decades of immense patience, compassion,
insight, and sometimes, pure grit, all of which she has demonstrated with
diligence and grace as a vital member of our teaching community. We wish Jo the
very best of luck as she retires from our system and embarks on the next
important phase of her life.
Barbara
Waitt – (27
yrs) Barbara is kind, calm, understanding and sincere.
She listens actively and remembers details about people because she
really cares. She takes time to really get to know the people who work
with her. Her excellent relationships form the basis for effective
collaboration with colleagues in the service of students. She is skillful
at analyzing data and working with colleagues to improve instruction based on
it. Her lessons for guided reading are careful and thoroughly planned.
Barbara collaborates well and closely with interventionists and special
educators in service of children. She has had some challenging students
over the years and she forms great relationships with them, establishes
effective behavior plans and they emerge at year end having had a very
successful year. Barbara took on the challenge of learning about and
implementing balanced literacy three years ago. She made the shift from a
basal with great enthusiasm and her students can now be found totally engaged
with a high interest book at their just right level. Parents appreciate
Barbara’s detailed, specific, thoughtful and kind responses to their questions
and concerns. At all times she is extremely sensitive, respectful and
thoughtful in her interactions with families so they can really hear both the
good and the not-so-good news about their children. Stanley school teachers,
staff, parents and children will dearly miss Barbara’s instructional skill and
sensitivity.
